There are a few days left: Ozan, third, has made his choice, Kılıçdaroğlu threatens Russia with sanctions.
Turkey is preparing for the decisive second round of presidential elections. The current head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, are seeking the post.
Sinan Ogan, who came in third with 5.17%, said earlier he would consider who to support. Experts were sure that with a high degree of probability it would be Erdogan – firstly, he passed the first round more confidently than his opponent, and secondly, many of his beliefs coincide with those of Ozan.
Political scientist Sergei Markov recalled that Ogan is a Turkish politician of Azerbaijani origin and, moreover, studied in Russia (and even speaks Russian well).
“And Ogan is ours, a Russian-speaking Azerbaijani, a graduate of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s MGIMO. Cool plot, – notes Markov. “The second round will take place on May 28, the day of Russian border troops.”
Photo: İletisimsinanogan, own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, wikimedia.org. The image is enlarged with a blur at the edges. And so, Ogan made his decision – he expected him to support Erdogan and angered the opposition, who could not convince him to support them.
“I declare that we will support Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the candidate of the People’s Alliance, in the second round of the elections,” Ogan said, “I am sure that this decision will be the right one for our country and our nation.”
In the first round of the Turkish presidential elections, Erdogan obtained 49.5%, just short of the majority needed for a complete victory. His rival Kılıçdaroğlu scored 44.9%.
Erdogan’s ruling AKP party and its allies have also maintained a 600-seat majority in parliament. This increases Erdogan’s chances of being re-elected as voters are likely to vote for him to avoid a split in government, writes The Guardian citing analysts.
The parliamentary majority of Erdogan’s party was cited by Ogan as one of the reasons he supports the incumbent president. They met Erdogan personally in Istanbul and discussed all the details.
Illustration: Notebook However, despite Ogan’s support, there is no certainty that all of his supporters will switch to Erdogan. Some are likely to favor Kılıçdaroğlu, while others may refuse to vote in the second round.
Political parties that backed Ogan said his statements were his own choice and did not reflect party views.
Umit Ozdag, leader of the anti-immigrant Victory Party which backed Ogan, appears to have distanced himself from the decision to back Erdogan.
Erdogan’s rival Kemal Kılıçdaroglu is trying with all his might to attract supporters to win votes, which he lacked in the first round. In an attempt to sway nationalist voters, Kılıçdaroğlu toughened his tone, promising to send refugees back, ban foreigners from buying housing, and rule out any peace talks with the PKK if elected. Well, don’t forget his statements on the eve of the first round that Russia interfered in the Turkish elections. The Turkish authorities even had to make several declarations on this subject.
Photo: Kremlin website “Mr. Kilicdaroglu started threatening Russia. It is a mistake to spoil our relations with a country like this… I asked him if he had any proof, some sort of document. He replied: “I have such an impression,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the Habertürk TV channel. “An opposition leader seeking power in Turkey must be more serious.”
Another outrageous statement by Kılıçdaroglu (believed to be a pro-Western politician) concerned sanctions against Russia. According to the newspaper Yeni Şafak, he promised to present them if he won (his adviser later denied everything, saying that Kılıçdaroğlu had been misunderstood). At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs again had to calm down the violent opponent, he said that one had to be very careful with such rhetoric.
Polls show that the advantage is on Erdogan’s side. According to the Areda survey, 52.4% of respondents are ready to vote for the incumbent president, and 47.6% for Kılıçdaroglu.
The second round of presidential elections in Turkey will take place next Sunday, May 28. To win, you need a simple majority of votes. The preliminary results of the elections will be known within an hour of the closing of the polls, the final results on June 1, when they will be published in the official journal.
Earlier, we learned that the United States was close to a critical moment: the US Treasury warned of a default on June 1st.
Read the Russia Ukraine News on The Eastern Herald.
