Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses his supporters, next to his wife Ermine Erdogan, following his victory in the second round of the presidential election at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey. (Image: Reuters)
Erdogan brushed aside a powerful opposition coalition, a biting economic crisis and widespread anger following a devastating February earthquake to beat secular challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday confronted the tough task of uniting his deeply divided country after winning a historic run-off election to extend his two-decade rule to 2028.
Turkey’s longest-serving leader brushed aside a powerful opposition coalition, a biting economic crisis and widespread anger following a devastating February earthquake to beat secular challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday’s vote.
But the four-point victory margin was Erdogan’s narrowest of any past election, highlighting the sharp polarisation the Islamic-rooted conservative will contend with in his final term in office.
Recep Tayyib Erdogan will remain president of Turkiye for another five years after winning Sunday’s run-off election over his long-time rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. (News18 Creatives)
Turkey’s election had potential for fraud due to the non-transparent way the election results are processed. Once each ballot box is counted, the ballot and result sheet are transported by police in cities and the military in regional areas to the electoral commission. (News18 Creatives)
The candidate who receives more than 50% of votes in the first round is elected president, but if no candidate gets majority, the election goes to a second round between the top two candidates. (News18 Creatives)
Turkish Presidential candidates can be nominated by parties that have passed the 5% voter threshold in the last parliamentary election or those who have gathered at least 100,000 signatures supporting their nomination. (News18 Creatives)
A run-off vote is a second round of voting that takes place when no candidate receives more than half of the presidential vote. (News18 Creatives)
With around 86.98 percent turnout, Erdogan had 49.5 percent of votes, with Kilicdaroglu trailed closely with 44.95 percent of votes. (News18 Creatives)
While Erdogan aimed to extend his transformative grip on power, his main challenger is Kemal Kilicdaroglu whose main unifying point was ousting Erdogan. (News18 Creatives)
Erdogan defeated his secular opposition rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, by four percentage points — closer than any other election, but enough to end his political career undefeated in national polls. (News18 Creatives)
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The Islamic-rooted leader’s chances have been bolstered by the endorsement of Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist who came out of seemingly nowhere to win 5.2 percent of the vote on May 14. (News18 Creatives)
This was the first run-off vote under Turkey’s new electoral system. Turkey transitioned from a parliamentary system to a presidential one in July 2018. (News18 Creatives)
Majid Alam is a Senior Sub Editor at News18.com. He has reported stories on politics, policy, environment and health. He loves to combine data and mul...Read More
