Erdogan wins in Turkey
Prez keeps job for third term
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities.
A third term gives Erdogan an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond the capital city of Ankara. Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.
With more than 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The head of Turkey’s electoral board confirmed the victory, saying that even after accounting for outstanding votes, the result was another term for Erdogan.
In his first comments since the polls closed, Erdogan, 69, thanked the nation for entrusting him with five more years.
“We hope to be worthy of your trust, as we have been for 21 years,” he told supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul. Erdogan ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying “Bye bye bye, Kemal,” as supporters booed.
“The only winner today is Turkey,” he said, promising to work hard for Turkey’s second century. The country marks its centennial this year. “No one can look down on our nation.”
Kilicdaroglu, 74, campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies, and to improve ties with the West. He said the election was “the most unjust ever,” with all state resources mobilized for Erdogan.
“We will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until real democracy comes to our country,” he said in Ankara. He also said the people have shown their will “to change an authoritarian government despite all the pressures.”
Erdogan’s government vetoed Sweden’s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from a US-led fighterjet project. But Turkey also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis.
Erdogan, who has been at Turkey’s helm for 20 years, came just short of victory in the first round of elections on May 14. It was the first time he failed to win an election outright.
Critics blame Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies for skyrocketing inflation. Many also faulted his government for a slow response to the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.