Erdoğan, having been dismissed the first time, says he is ready for a second round

TURKEY – Depending on the results of the presidential election vote count, an unprecedented second round in Turkey this Sunday evening, May 14, looks set to take place, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan neck-and-neck with his opponent, Kemal Kilicadoglu.

The 69-year-old head of state, who has been in power for 20 years, lost the lead given to him by official media over his social-democratic rival in the evening, falling below 50%, according to state agency Anadolu.

These results will pave the way for the second round on May 28. It is the first century of the Turkish Republic, this year. Erdogan, who considers himself a “frontrunner”, says he will respect the final ballot and the “next election”. Kemal Klisadaroglu promised his camp victory on Monday “Second Round” The ballot, now, seems vindicated.

Erdoğan” Ready to respect » Second round

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday “Clear in Mind” presidential election, but he says he’s ready “Respect” A second round if necessary. “Even though the results are not out yet, we are clearly ahead” Before a wave of supporters gathered in Ankara at midnight (02:30 local time, 23:30 GMT), he began: “We respect this election and we will respect the next election” He promised.

“We still don’t know if the election is over with this first round, but if the people take us to the second round, we will respect it”.

In the two decades he has been in power in Turkey, it is the first time a head of state has been forced into a runoff scheduled for May 28 against his social democratic opponent, Kemal Kilicadoglu. The latter led an unprecedented coalition of six opposition parties.

“People have chosen stability”, Erdogan promises

“Whatever the result, 27 million people wanted to vote for us.”He continued as the counting continued.

“I think we will end this election with more than 50% votes” He insisted on votes. “People have chosen stability and security in this presidential election.”.

Erdogan also said “Majority” He created 600 seats in parliament for a national coalition between his party, the AKP, and smaller nationalist and Islamist parties.

Kemal Kilicadaroglu promised to win the second round

Kemal Klisadaroglu promised his camp victory on Monday “Second Round” The ballot, now, seems vindicated. “If our country asks for a second round, we will happily accept it. And we will absolutely win this second round.He launched in the middle of the night from Ankara, surrounded by representatives of the six parties of his coalition.

President Recep Tayyip “No matter how many insults, Erdoğan could not achieve the desired result” Pronounced against his opponent, Klişateroğlu continued.

“The need for change in society is more than 50%; we must win democracy and establish democracy in this country”He said without referring to the simultaneous Assembly elections.

A war of numbers

“We have 15 tough days ahead of us in the second round event”, warned Chinon Ogan, a dissident from the nationalist party MHPen who refused to say which candidate he would support. To be declared the winner, one of the two leading candidates must receive 50% of the vote and a majority.

Pending final results, both sides engaged in a war of statistics, instructing their respective audiences to be in the counting places. “Until the End”. “We’re in the lead”Kemal Klichadaroglu said.

One of his right-hand men, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, made the call “Citizens should ignore statistics provided by Anadolu”.

A record participation rate

In Istanbul, a metropolis of 16 million people, 20% of the votes to be counted could help Klişateroğlu close the gap.

In the large Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in the country’s southeast, Anadolu said it won more than 71% of the vote, with four-fifths of the votes counted.

Throughout the day, ballot boxes were filled with large mustard-colored envelopes deposited by voters, who sometimes waited for hours in front of schools converted into polling booths. The participation rate, close to 90%, is not officially reported.

Discount, setback for Erdogan

At stake: The election of the thirteenth president of the Turkish republic, which is celebrating its first centenary, and the future of a head of state who hopes to stay in power beyond this election, polls are strongly predicting.

The winner must secure 50% of the vote and a majority under penalty in a second round on May 28, the symbolic anniversary of the massive popular protest movement that toppled power in 2003.

The 64 million voters had to elect all 600 representatives who could sit in the one-house parliament in Ankara. In 2018, during the last presidential election, the head of state won with more than 52.5% of the votes in the first round. A waiver would already be a setback for him.

“Do not divide Turkey”

Voters are expected to vote mainly in favor of Islamic-conservative President Erdogan, 69, and Kemal Klideroglu, head of the CHP, the secular party of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

“I say + continue with Erdogan”Instead Nurcan pleads with Soyer, headscarf, in front of Erdogan’s polling station.

In Antakya, the scarred city of ancient Antioch (south) destroyed by an earthquake, Mehmed Topaloglu was one of the first to: “We need change, that’s enough”. Three months after the tragedy, the wounds are still alive.

Kilicadaroglu leads a united front of six parties ranging from the nationalist right to the liberal center left. He also received support from the pro-Kurdish HDP party, the country’s third political force.

Erdogan appears this time before a country ravaged by an economic crisis that has seen the currency halved in two years and inflation in the fall exceeding 85%.

In the face of him, Kemal Kılıçateroğlu played the peace card, pledging to restore respect for the rule of law and institutions abused over the past 10 years by Erdogan’s authoritarian slide.

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