With the Turkish presidential election expected to go to a runoff in two weeks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told supporters on the 15th (local time) that he believes he will win in the first round of voting.
President Erdogan said in a speech on the balcony of the Development and Justice Party (AKP) headquarters in Ankara on the morning of the 15th, “We are ahead of Candidate Kemal Kultzdaroglu by 2.6 million votes. The gap is expected to widen further with the final result,” he said. “I am not yet sure of the outcome, but I believe I will finish this round with more than 50% of the vote.” Ankara’s balcony is where he declared victory in the last presidential election.
He said, “I expect victory, but I will accept the result even if I fail to win a majority and go to the finals.”
“We have respected the will of the people without exception throughout our political life,” he stressed, “we will respect it in this election and in the next one.”
Candidate Cultz Daroglu expected the election to go to the final, saying, “If the final is held, we will win.”
He said, “Erdogan has not earned the public’s trust. More than 50% of (the people’s) desire to change society is expressed.”
Turkey held presidential and general elections on the 14th. It was the composition of President Erdogan and the representative of the CHP (CHP), a single candidate from six opposition parties, Yang Kang.
According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency, the current vote count is 97.45%, with 49.4% for President Erdogan and 45.0% for candidate Kultzdaroglu.
In the opinion polls before the vote, candidate Cultz Daroglu had the upper hand. However, opening the lid reveals the opposite result. However, President Erdogan led with a majority of votes at the beginning of the counting, but has now fallen to less than 50%.
In Turkey, if there is no majority vote, the first and second place candidates will hold a runoff two weeks later. Foreign media are predicting that there is a high possibility that the final will be held now. If it goes to the final, voting will be held on the 28th of this month.
Analysts say that Muharram Inje, the third-place candidate for the National Party, can play the role of a kingmaker in the final. He is believed to be close to President Erdogan.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.