More than 25.4 million Turks voted for Kemal Kilicgdaroglu, the candidate who brought together six opposition parties, but the popular will to grant Recep Tayyip Erdogan another five-year term was superior, with the president winning more than 27.6 million received votes. In percentage terms, the result (52.1%) is in line with that of the previous presidential election (52.5%). When the votes were still to be counted, Erdogan addressed his faithful in Istanbul and, despite words of unity, continued to criticize his opponent and say goodbye: “Bye bye Kemal,” he said and repeated. Kilicgdaroglu, who did not admit defeat in a first speech, criticized the “unfair” elections and feared for the future of the country’s economy.
Atop a bus in his hometown and where he began his political career as mayor, Erdogan was his equal – magnetic to his supporters and repulsive to his detractors. As in the speech at the end of the first round, Erdogan returned to sing his campaign’s theme, but the song was different after he thanked the “brothers and sisters” for their vote. Despite stating that “the only winner is Turkey” and that he hopes to be worthy of the voters’ trust, he took the opportunity to deal with his opponent.
He criticized Kemal Kilicdaroglu, “an expert in electoral calculations”, but who only managed to elect more deputies because the CHP aligned itself with other minor parties. To the man who once said “he couldn’t even herd a sheep”, he said goodbye with a “bye bye Kemal”. He also reminded Istanbul supporters that local elections will be held in 2024. His party has lost autarchy, just as Erdogan has lost now (as in Ankara and coastal cities and regions with a Kurdish majority).
“The biggest message of the election is that no one can hide the achievements of this country. We will keep our unity as a nation,” Erdogan assured. After a nod to nationalism, he reassured religious conservatives by assuring that LGBT values would not infiltrate his AKP party or that of its ally MHP. “The family is sacred to us.”
Erdogan, who said he immediately received congratulations from the leaders of Azerbaijan, Libya and Qatar, also received congratulations from Russian Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Viktor Orbán.
The results of the elections, which had a turnout of 85.7% (1.2 percentage points less than in the first round), were not immediately recognized by Kilicdaroglu. In a harsh speech, he criticized the increasingly autocratic regime that stood in the way of a fair campaign. “I was not afraid of an unfair structure. I could not keep silent when millions become second-class citizens,” he said, after thanking voters, especially women and children. The Kemalist candidate said he was concerned about the country’s economic course and assured that “the battle continues”.
Source: DN
