Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan obtained a substantial lead in the initial round of votes on May 14, indicating that his political momentum has only strengthened, prompting pundits to predict his win in the runoff versus Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Erdogan has reshaped Turkey by altering the secular state founded a century ago to fit his zealous worldview. According to critics, this power concentration is moving toward authoritarianism, according to Reuters. Thus, this year's Turkey election is considered one of the most important in its 100-year history.
The 69-year-old chief executive also has established Turkey as a regional power by developing connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin and edging Turkey away from its Western friends.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been criticized for widening national differences throughout his two-decade time in office, an atmosphere that has continued throughout the election campaign. Before the Turkey elections, he challenged these assertions and said that his rivals were tainting the political dialogue.
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In the first round of the elections, Erdogan got 49.5% and Kilicdaroglu 44.8% in the first round. Sinan Ogan, a virtually unknown contender, received 5.2% with ultranationalist support, Al Jazeera reported.
Ogan unexpectedly endorsed Erdogan in the runoff, while the ATA Alliance backed Kilicdaroglu. During the two weeks leading up to the runoff, the third candidate and alliance's nationalist position and rising nationalist votes have shaped the campaign.
Turkey Earthquake Issues Have Little Impact on Erdogan's Candidacy
Topics like "terrorism" and the plight of refugees in Turkey have significantly overtaken economic hardship and the fallout from the devastating earthquakes in February in the electoral rhetoric.
In earthquake-ravaged communities, Erdogan's campaign has surprisingly succeeded. Despite public outrage over the Turkish government's slow response and widespread corruption in the construction sector during his administration, he won a comfortable majority in seven of the 11 earthquake-impacted provinces.
The Turkish president received 72% of the vote in Kahramanmaras, an area devastated by the earthquakes, indicating that his popularity has remained largely unchanged despite the uproar, per The Guardian.
The vote results in Kahramanmaras show that Recep Tayyip Erdogan is becoming more popular than his Justice and Development Party (AKP), which lost over 11% of votes since the 2018 elections.
Instead of Erdogan, many voters blamed the AKP for government shortcomings, particularly the earthquake response.
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