Recep Tayyip Erdogan won five more years to lead the NATO-member country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.
Two weeks after his first-round loss, Erdogan won Sunday’s presidential runoff with almost 52% of the vote. In the second round, most Turkish voters supported him over Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a strong, established leader.
Erdogan, who has reigned for two decades, and the opposition candidate, who vowed to return to democratic standards, embrace more traditional economic policies, and strengthen ties with the West, split voters.
Erdogan must now address rising prices and rebuild after a terrible earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.
Erdogan praised the nation for re-electing him in two speeches in Istanbul and Ankara. “We hope to be worthy of your trust, as we have been for 21 years,” he told supporters on a campaign bus outside his Istanbul home.
He said the race was finished yet proceeded to criticize his opponent.
Erdogan remarked outside the presidential palace in Ankara, “The only winner today is Turkey,” pledging to work hard for Turkey’s second century, the “Turkish century.” It’s the nation’s centennial.
Erdogan’s unorthodox policies have hurt the economy, presenting major hurdles. He must also reconstruct 11 regions devastated by the Feb. 6 earthquake.
Kilicdaroglu called the election “the most unjust ever,” mobilizing all state resources for Erdogan. “We will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until real democracy comes to our country,” he stated in Ankara. He praised his 25 million voters and begged them to “remain upright.”
“Despite all the pressures,” Kilicdaroglu remarked, the people have showed their determination “to change an authoritarian government.”
Erdogan supporters waved Turkish flags, honked automobile horns, and chanted his name in celebration. Istanbul areas heard celebratory gunshots.
His second term will include sensitive negotiations with NATO allies about NATO’s future and the Ukraine crisis.
World leaders congratulated Turkey and Erdogan, underscoring their increased influence.
On Twitter, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog congratulated Erdogan on his election win. I believe we will continue to enhance Türkiye-Israel relations.
Despite years of poor ties, Western lawmakers stated they would cooperate with Erdogan. Sweden’s NATO bid hinges on Turkey. The bid strengthens the military alliance against Russia and maintains a commitment to enable Ukrainian grain imports and prevent a worldwide food catastrophe.
“No one can look down on our nation,” Erdogan stated in Istanbul.
Steven A. Cook, a senior scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said Turkey will “move the goal post” on Sweden’s NATO membership to get US demands.
He also predicted that Erdogan, who has proposed a new constitution, will press harder to enshrine AKP policies.
Erdogan pledged to rehabilitate quake-stricken communities in his victory speech. In a Qatar-led resettlement initiative, a million Syrian refugees would return to Turkish-controlled “safe zones” in Syria.
Conservative people support Erdogan for elevating Islam in secular Turkey and increasing the country’s worldwide prominence.
Erdogan’s opponent was a mild-mannered former civil servant who led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. Kilicdaroglu’s opponents united after months. Erdogan has never won an election.
In the runoff, Kilicdaroglu promised to deport refugees home and ruled out peace talks with Kurdish insurgents.
Erdogan and pro-government media accused Kilicdaroglu, backed by the pro-Kurdish party, of conspiring with “terrorists” and advocating “deviant” LGBTQ rights.
Erdogan reiterated that LGBTQ persons cannot “infiltrate” his ruling party or its nationalist allies in his victory address.
Ankara Erdogan voter Hacer Yalcin thought Turkey’s future was bright.
Erdogan won… Who else? “He made everything for us,” Yalcin claimed. “God blesses us!”
Muslim Erdogan, 69, will rule until 2028.
A 2017 referendum narrowly won by him abolished Turkey’s parliamentary system and made the president dominant. He was the first directly elected president in 2014 and won the executive office in 2018.
Erdogan’s first half brought economic growth and EU discussions.
After Turkey’s failed coup attempt, he suppressed liberties and the media and consolidated authority. Cleric denies participation.
“It is sad on behalf of our people that a government with such corruption, such stains, has come into power again,” said 37-year-old metalworker Ahmet Koyun in Kurdish-majority Diyarbakir. For a change, Mr. Kemal would have been fantastic for our country.”
However, everyone must accept the findings.
