US President Joe Biden “expects to work with whoever wins” the Turkish presidential election, a White House spokesman said on Monday.
The United States also “congratulated” the Turks for their electoral mobilization, added John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, a body directly linked to the US president.
Washington said it had confidence in the operation of the Turkish electoral authorities, despite accusations of manipulation, and denied having a favorite for the second round of the presidential elections, which will take place on May 28.
The Turkish president, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power for 20 years, will face his rival, the Social Democrat Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, after a first round already held this Sunday.
“Turkey has a long democratic tradition and we are confident that the Turkish authorities will conduct this next phase of the presidential elections in accordance with the country’s laws and their international commitments,” said US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel. in a press conference.
The Joe Biden administration reiterated that it plays no favorites and that it will work with “any Turkish government elected by the people of Turkey,” the official added.
“We congratulate the people of Turkey for peacefully expressing their will at the polls and we also congratulate the newly elected Parliament,” said Patel, who recalled that Ankara is a “long-time ally” of Washington, as well as a NATO member.
The Turkish Electoral Commission indicated today that, with the count practically finished, none of the candidates will be able to exceed 50%, with Erdogan reaching 49.5% and Kiliçdaroglu 45% of the votes.
Although Erdogan lost with this result the absolute majority that he obtained in 2014 and that he revalidated in 2018, the support received is well above what the polls predicted.
The international observer mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) pointed out that the elections were marked by the violation of certain rights and the advantages enjoyed by government candidates.
Source: TSF
