![]() This year marks 100 years since Turkey’s establishment as a republic - a modern, secular state born on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. ![]() More than 64 million people, including the overseas voters, were eligible to vote and nearly 89% voted. “That the election results have not been finalized doesn’t change the fact that the nation has chosen us,” Erdogan said. Voters also elected lawmakers to fill Turkey’s 600-seat parliament, which lost much of its legislative power after a referendum to change the country’s system of governance to an executive presidency narrowly passed in 2017.Īnadolu news agency said Erdogan’s ruling party alliance was hovering around 49.3%, while Kilicdaroglu’s Nation Alliance had around 35.2% and support for a pro-Kurdish party stood above 10%. While Erdogan hopes to win a five-year term that would take him well into his third decade as Turkey’s leader, Kilicdaroglu campaigned on promises to reverse crackdowns on free speech and other forms of democratic backsliding, as well as to repair an economy battered by high inflation and currency devaluation. Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Erdogan’s Justice and Development, or AK, party, in turn accused the opposition of “an attempt to assassinate the national will.” He called the opposition claims “irresponsible.” With the partial results showing otherwise, members of Kilicdaroglu’s center-left, pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, disputed Anadolu’s initial numbers, contending the state-run agency was biased in Erodgan’s favor. In the run-up to the election, opinion surveys had indicated the increasingly authoritarian leader narrowly trailed his challenger. Voters would not want a “divided government,” he said.Įrdogan has governed Turkey as either prime minister or president since 2003. Lawrence University in New York, said Erdogan was likely to have an advantage in a runoff because the president’s party was likely to do better in a parliamentary election also held Sunday. Howard Eissenstat, an associate professor of Middle East history and politics at St. The majority of ballots from the 3.4 million eligible overseas voters still needed to be tallied, according to the board, and a May 28 runoff election was not assured. Turkey’s election authority, the Supreme Electoral Board, said it was providing numbers to competing political parties “instantly” and would make the results public once the count was completed and finalized. But Western nations and foreign investors also awaited the outcome because of Erdogan’s unorthodox leadership of the economy and often mercurial but successful efforts to put Turkey at the center of international negotiations. This year’s election largely centered on domestic issues such as the economy, civil rights and a February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people. He garnered 60% of the overseas vote in 2018. … If our nation has chosen for a second round, that is also welcome,” Erdogan said early Monday, noting that votes from Turkish citizens living abroad still need to be tallied. ![]() “We don’t yet know if the elections ended in the first round. ![]() Speaking to supporters in Ankara, Erdogan, 69, said he could still win but would respect the nation’s decision if the race went to a runoff vote in two weeks. The results, whether they come within days or after a second round of voting takes place in two weeks, will determine if a NATO ally that straddles Europe and Asia but borders Syria and Iran remains under Erdogan’s control or resumes the more democratic path promised by his main rival, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. By SUZAN FRASER and ZEYNEP BILGINSOY (Associated Press)ĪNKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled his country with an increasingly firm grip for 20 years, was locked in a tight election race early Monday, with a make-or-break runoff against his chief challenger possible as the final votes were counted. ![]()
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