Turkiye’s Erdogan wins 5th presidential term, extends rule into 3rd decade

With nearly 99% of ballot boxes open, unofficial results from competing news outlets put Erdogan at 52% of the vote

Ankara: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won re-election on Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country struggles with high inflation and entire cities in the aftermath of the earthquake Flattened and crumbling.

Nearly 99 percent of ballot boxes have been opened, with unofficial results from competing news organizations showing Erdogan with 52 percent of the vote, while his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, won The rate is 48%.

Erdogan addressed supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul for the first time since polls closed.

“I thank every member of our country for entrusting me to run this country again for the next five years,” he said.

As supporters booed him, he laughed at his challenger’s defeat, saying “bye bye, Kemal”.

“The only winner today is Türkiye,” Erdogan said. He promised to work for the second century of Turkiye. The country celebrated its centenary this year. “No one can look down on our country,” he said.

Supporters of the divisive populists celebrated even before the final result, waving flags of Turkey or the ruling party, honking car horns and chanting his name and “In God’s name, God is great” .

With a third term in office, Erdogan will wield stronger influence both domestically and internationally, with the election results having implications far beyond Ankara. Turkey is located at the junction of Europe and Asia and has a pivotal position in NATO.

Erdogan’s government rejected Sweden’s bid to join NATO and buy a Russian missile defense system, prompting the United States to expel Turkiye from the U.S.-led fighter jet program. But it also helped broker a key deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis.

Erdogan, who has been in charge of Turkey’s government for 20 years, came close to winning the first round of elections on May 14. It was the first time he failed to win the election outright, but he made up for it on Sunday.

His performance came despite deep inflation and the impact of a devastating earthquake three months ago.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Erdogan on his “unquestionable electoral victory” on Twitter, while Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani tweeted his best wishes The Turkish president succeeded. Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, Serbia and Uzbekistan also offered congratulations.

The two candidates offered very different visions of the country’s future and recent past.

Critics blame Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies for soaring inflation and sparking a cost-of-living crisis. Many also blamed his government’s slow response to the quake in Turkey that killed more than 50,000 people.

In the mostly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir – one of 11 districts hit by the Feb. 6 earthquake – Mustafayesir, a 60-year-old retiree, said he voted for “change”.

“I’m not at all happy with the way this country is going. Let me be clear, I don’t see good things going forward if this government stays in power,” he said. “I think it’s going to end badly – this government has to change.”

Erdogan supporter Mehmet Jurtas disagrees. “I believe our home is at its peak and in very good condition,” the 57-year-old owner said. “Our country is on a very good trajectory and will continue to do so.”

Erdogan has the support of conservative voters who remain loyal to him because he has boosted Islam’s image in a Turkey founded on secular principles and boosted the country’s influence in world politics.

Erdogan, 69, could remain in power until 2028. A devout Muslim, he leads the conservative religious Justice and Development Party (AKP). Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role into a powerful office by narrowly winning a 2017 referendum to abolish Turkey’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014 and won the 2018 general election that ushered in the executive presidency.

The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to start negotiating membership in the European Union, as well as economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he has since moved to suppress freedom and the media and concentrate more power in his own hands, especially after what Turkiye said was an attempted coup attempt by Fethullah Gulen, an American Islamic cleric. The priest denies involvement.

Erdogan’s rival is a mild-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) since 2010. Kilicdaroglu campaigned on a promise to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, restore the economy by reverting to more traditional policies and improve relations with the West.

Kilidaroglu, desperate to win over nationalist voters in the runoff, has vowed to repatriate refugees and has ruled out peace talks with Kurdish militants if elected.

Kilicdaroglu’s defeat added to Erdogan’s long list of electoral losses and forced him to step down as party chairman.

Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies retained a majority in parliament after legislative elections on May 14.

Sunday also marked the 10th anniversary of the start of massive anti-government protests, which erupted over the planned uprooting of trees in Istanbul’s Gezi Park and have emerged as one of the most serious challenges to Erdogan’s government.

Erdogan’s response to the protests heralded a crackdown on civil society and free speech, with eight people convicted for their alleged involvement.

After the May 14 vote, international observers pointed to the criminalization of spreading disinformation and online censorship as evidence that Erdogan had an “undue advantage”. They also said the strong turnout showed the resilience of Turkish democracy.

Erdogan and pro-government media have portrayed Kilidaroglu, who is backed by the country’s pro-Kurdish parties, as collaborating with “terrorists” and supporting what they say are “abnormal” LGBTQ rights.

In his victory speech, he repeated those themes, saying LGBTQ people cannot “infiltrate” his ruling party or its nationalist allies.