Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised his supporters a “bigger victory” as the country gears up for the upcoming run-off vote on May 28.
A candidate must get more than 50% of the vote to win the presidential race. As no one passed that threshold, the vote headed to a runoff election in about 12 days.
Erdogan, who is seeking a third term as president and a five-year extension of his 20-year rule, has appeared confident since the May 14 parliamentary and presidential elections.
With 49.5% voted in Sunday’s race, Erdogan fell just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff in a vote. His main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, received 45% votes, vowed to win the second round of voting. The third candidate in the race, ultranationalist Sinan Ogan, won just over 5% of the vote.
Erdogan’s People’s Alliance, which includes his Justice and Development Party (AK Party along with its allies, has already won the parliamentary vote, securing 322 out of 600 seats in the National Assembly. This victory and majority in parliament supports Erdogan’s argument that voting for him would ensure stability.
Referring to his alliance’s control of parliament, Erdogan stressed the need for “stability and trust” between the government and the legislature. “The strong position of the People’s Alliance in the assembly makes us stronger,” he told reporters.
The country saw a high voter turnout, some 88% countrywide and nearly 53% overseas, and analysts expect the percentage of voters will remain the same for the runoff.
