ERDOGAN SET FOR VICTORY IN TURKISH RUN-OFF ELECTION
▶ President says he received ‘the favour of our people’ after millions returned to the polls
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday claimed victory over political rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the country’s run-off presidential election.
The state-run Anadolu news agency and Anka news agency, which is sympathetic to the opposition, reported yesterday that Mr Erdogan was leading with about 97 per cent of the votes counted.
Mr Erdogan, who has led the country for two decades, thanked the Turkish people “who once again conveyed to us responsibility for governing Turkey for the next five years”.
“We have completed the second round of the presidential elections with the favour of our people,” he said.
In the first round of voting this month, Mr Erdogan, who leads the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was short of the 50 per cent threshold needed to avoid a run-off vote.
He was five percentage points ahead of Mr Kilicdaroglu, who leads the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Turnout was expected to be high yesterday, although it was below the 87 per cent of eligible voters reported in the first round. More than 64.1 million were registered to vote, including 1.92 million who cast their ballots abroad.
Some Turks gathered near TV screens to watch the results trickle in. Yuksel Moralli, 51, a supporter of Mr Erdogan, said he was delighted. “Everything will be good for Turkey if he can make the economy run well again,” he said.
An army of election monitors were on hand to ensure the vote was conducted fairly.
After the first round, the CHP filed a complaint alleging voting irregularities.
The run-off vote comes as the country faces a difficult economic situation, with inflation soaring and the Turkish lira plummeting in value against the dollar.
Voters in Turkey returned to the polls yesterday for a presidential run-off to decide if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would extend his tenure in office into a third decade.
Last night, Turkey’s state state-run Anadolu Agency reported that Mr Erdogan had emerged victorious in the presidential run-off against challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, ahead of the official result.
Addressing his supporters in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan said: “God willing, we will be worthy of your trust as we have been for the last 21 years.”
The voters whose trust Mr Erdogan sought began to go to the ballot box at 8am local time yesterday, with polls closing at 5pm. Turks living abroad had already cast their ballots.
Yuksel Moralli, 51, said he backed Mr Erdogan, despite the country’s ailing economy.
“I support Erdogan and I’m very happy he won,” Mr Moralli said, before an official result was announced.
But he was concerned about the presence of an estimated 3.5 million refugees from Syria’s civil war in Turkey.
“There’s only one thing that upsets me – the Syrians will stay here for a bit longer than we expected,” he said.
“Everything will be good for Turkey if he can make the economy run well again. Then there’s nothing to be worried about with five years of him.”
Mr Erdogan, leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), was unable to avoid a run-off when he failed to obtain 50 per cent of the vote two weeks ago. Unofficial results last night showed he received 52.1 per cent of the vote, with Mr Kilicdaroglu on 47.9 per cent, with most votes counted.
Mr Erdogan has been accused of consolidating power, while his unorthodox financial policies have in part been blamed for damaging the country’s economy and causing inflation to soar.
Mr Kilicdaroglu, leader of the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the candidate of a six-party alliance, pledged to make the country more democratic and fair.
Ali Coliskan, 47, said he voted for Mr Kilicdaroglu because “the colour of the country got lost” under Mr Erdogan.
He said the President had “put Turkey in a dark time”.
“Corruption and bribery have become common. Because of this, Turkey’s economy has also fallen into a difficult situation. People can’t afford to survive,” Mr Coliskan said.
“I am voting for Kilicdaroglu because he will bring that colour back and will manage Turkey under the constitution.”
Outside a polling station in the Istanbul neighbourhood of Dolapdere Beyoglu, Mustafa Sari, 50, a security manager at a university, said he also voted for the CHP leader.
He said this was “because I want democracy and justice again. Only Kilicdaroglu can bring this.”
Mr Sari said: “The man I want to win is the man who can build a secular system.”
Vehbiye Direk, a mother of three, said she voted for Mr Kilicdaroglu in the first round but planned to switch sides.
“The CHP does not understand me,” she said.
“I need a house to raise my children, but I can’t afford it and the CHP doesn’t help me enough. I think I am now voting for Erdogan.
“He’s helping me to raise my children and I am afraid that if CHP comes to power, they are going to ban the hijab.”
Vehbiye Direk, a mother of three, switched to Erdogan, saying his policies helped pay for raising her children