May 28, 2023
President Erdoğan wins another Turkish election
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan cemented his place in Turkish politics as the longest-serving leader with a runoff victory on Sunday against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu
All of Türkiye and its democracy won, said Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he was reelected president in Sunday's runoff polls.
"We are not the only winners. Türkiye is the winner. Our nation with all its segments is the winner. Our democracy is the winner," Erdogan said, addressing thousands of his supporters gathered in front of the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.
"No one has lost today. All 85 million (people) have won...It is now time to unite and integrate around our national goals and national dreams, leaving aside all the debates and conflicts regarding the election period," he added.
Erdoğan denounced his NATO allies who didn’t hide their preference for Kılıçdaroğlu in the election. “Didn’t German, French and British magazines publish covers to beat Erdoğan? They also lost. You have seen the alliances that have been formed against us for months. You have seen who is with whom. They failed and they will not succeed from now on,” he said.
Erdogan's reelection was confirmed by Ahmet Yener, the chairman of the country's Supreme Election Council (YSK), on Sunday evening.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Yener said Erdogan won Türkiye's presidency over opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the second-round runoff vote.
According to unofficial results, the Turkish incumbent won the race with 52.14%, while Kilicdaroglu got 47.86% of the vote, he said. He added that 99.43% of the ballot boxes have been opened so far.
In the first round of the election on May 14, no candidate got the 50% needed for an outright victory, triggering the presidential runoff, though Erdogan took the lead with 49.52%. Parliamentary elections were also held that day, with Erdogan's electoral alliance winning a majority of seats.
"In one of the most important elections of our multi-party political history, our nation made its decision in favor of the 'Century of Türkiye,'” said Erdogan.
"In the first round of the elections, our nation had already demonstrated its legislative preference by giving the majority of the members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly to the People's Alliance.”
The election was closely watched by the world due to Erdoğan’s rising role in global affairs as Türkiye raised its diplomatic profile, from brokering a grain deal to emerging as a country more independent from the West it long relied on for its defense and borrowing needs. Developments in its immediate region, from conflicts in its neighbor Syria and between its close allies Ukraine and Russia also increased the importance of the elections. For his supporters encompassing the Arab and Muslim world he maintains warm ties with, Erdoğan’s win was also significant.
Erdoğan clinched his 16th electoral win since he came to power with his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in 2002 and remain Türkiye’s 12th president.
More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.92 million who earlier cast their ballots at overseas polling stations.
Nearly 192,000 ballot boxes were set up for voters across Türkiye.
Erdoğan sweeps 59% of overseas votes in Türkiye's runoff
Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan swept 59% of the votes cast by Turkish citizens living abroad with 63% of the votes counted in Türkiye’s historic runoff election on Sunday.
The opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received 40.9% of the votes, according to unofficial election results.
Some 1.9 million of over 3.4 million eligible voters cast their ballots abroad in the second round of presidential elections, according to the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
Voting at diplomatic missions ended on Wednesday, while the polling continued at customs gates until 5 p.m. local time (2 p.m. GMT) on Sunday.
In the May 14 elections, a total of 1,839,470 Turkish citizens abroad went to the polls to vote in both the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Erdoğan received 57.47% of the overseas votes in the first round, while opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received 39.57%.
Kılıçdaroğlu clings to CHP seat after election loss
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu stopped short of declaring his defeat in the runoff on Sunday in his first speech after the vote count neared the end. The leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), who was nominated by a six-party opposition alliance, boasted about “25 million citizens” who voted for him but showed no signs of accepting his failure.
Former CHP members have been vocal in their calls for Kılıçdaroğlu to step down in the past as his party never had a strong showing against Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Yet, Kılıçdaroğlu said he would continue “his struggle for the prosperity and peace of the nation.”
“Our march is continuing, we are still here,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
This is the 13th loss of the CHP against Erdoğan and the AK Party, which has dominated the Turkish political landscape since 2002. Kılıçdaroğlu, who found himself as chair of the party when his predecessor Deniz Baykal stepped down over a sex tape conspiracy in 2010, fielded other candidates in the previous elections against Erdoğan, including Muharrem Ince, who ran under his Homeland Party (MP) in the first round of this election. Despite the opposition of the Good Party (IP), a member of the six-party opposition bloc, against his candidacy, Kılıçdaroğlu was fielded as a candidate.
Calling for his resignation, a group of CHP supporters convened outside the headquarters of his party in the capital Ankara about one hour before he commenced his speech.
Tanju Özcan, mayor of the northern province of Bolu and a former mayor from the CHP, was among the critics of Kılıçdaroğlu. The outspoken mayor who fell out with Kılıçdaroğlu in the past, commented that he hoped he had “misheard” when Kılıçdaroğlu said he would “continue” in his speech.
“You made the opposition bloc nominate yourself as a candidate and those who opposed your candidacy grinned and beared it (to defeat Erdoğan). But enough is enough. Please leave. You should spend your days with your grandchildren. You gave us hope for 13 years, but you should quit now with dignity,” Özcan tweeted.
World leaders congratulate Erdoğan for runoff victory
Congratulations from around the world poured in for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who took a comfortable lead in early exit poll results for the second round of Türkiye’s presidential election on Sunday.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was among the first leaders to congratulate Erdoğan. He said the runoff results indicated that friendly Turkish people supported the president's policies and reform program.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Erdoğan, saying it was evidence the Turkish people appreciated Erdoğan's selfless work and independent foreign policy. "The election victory was a natural result of your selfless work as the head of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the support of the Turkish people for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and conduct an independent foreign policy," Putin said in a message to Erdoğan, the Kremlin said. "We highly appreciate your personal contribution to the strengthening of friendly Russian-Turkish relations and mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas," Putin said.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also congratulated Erdoğan.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic both congratulated Erdoğan and the Turkish people on the “election victory.”
"My dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, congratulations on your victory," Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani tweeted. “I wish our strong relations to further our countries’ development and growth.”
While Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban touted his “unquestionable election victory,” Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said Erdoğan’s “election victory shows renewal of people's confidence in his successful projects, policies.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev extended his congratulations in a phone call and invited Erdoğan to pay a visit to Baku.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the win reflects the “trust and confidence of Turkish people in his dynamic leadership” while Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi called it “a sign of continued valuable trust of Turkish people.”
The first reactions of the major NATO powers reflected their plans to involve Turkey, a strategic ally in the Black Sea, in their aggressive policy against Kremlin, to escalate the war with Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted in Turkish and French, stating: “France and Turkey have immense challenges that we must face together. Let us return to peace in Europe, the future of our euro-Atlantic alliance, and the Mediterranean Sea. With President Erdogan, whom I congratulate for his re-election, we will continue to advance.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also emphasized his willingness to work with Erdoğan. He said, “Germany and Turkey are close partners and allies, our peoples and economies are deeply intertwined. I congratulate President Erdoğan. Together we want to advance our common agenda with new momentum!”
Similarly, US President Joseph Biden declared: “Congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye on his re-election. I look forward to continuing to work together as NATO Allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges.”
China extended well-wishes to President Erdoğan on his reelection, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said."We support Türkiye in taking a development path that suits its national conditions and hope that Türkiye will continue to make new achievements in its development under the leadership of President Erdoğan," she added.Beijing, Mao said, China "attaches great importance to its relations with Türkiye." "In recent years, under the guidance of the two heads of state, the two countries have achieved fruitful cooperation in various fields, benefiting our two peoples," she continued. "China is willing to work together with Türkiye to push our strategic cooperative relations to new heights," Mao added.
[Input from Anadolu Agency & Sabah Daily]
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab