Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses his supporters next to his wife Ermin Erdogan following his victory in the second round of the presidential election at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey. (Image: Reuters)
Erdogan overcame a powerful opposition coalition, a crippling economic crisis and widespread anger after the devastating February earthquake to defeat secular challenger Kemal Kilikdaroglu
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces the uphill task of uniting his deeply divided country after winning a historic run-off election on Monday to extend his two-decade rule until 2028.
Turkey’s longest-serving leader overcame a powerful opposition coalition, a crippling economic crisis and widespread anger after a devastating February earthquake to defeat secular challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday’s vote.
But the four-point victory margin was the narrowest in any previous election for Erdogan, highlighting the sharp polarization the Islamic-conservatives will contest in his final term in office.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan will remain Turkey’s president for another five years after winning Sunday’s run-off election over his longtime rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu. (News18 Creative)
Turkey’s election was prone to fraud due to the non-transparent way of processing election results. Once each ballot box has been counted, the ballot papers and result sheets are delivered to the Electoral Commission by the police in the cities and by the military in the regional areas. (News18 Creative)
The candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round is elected president, but if no candidate receives a majority, the election goes to a second round between the top two candidates. (News18 Creative)
Turkish presidential candidates may be nominated by parties that have passed the 5% voter threshold in the last parliamentary election or that have collected at least 100,000 signatures supporting their nomination. (News18 Creative)
A run-off vote is a second round of voting when no candidate receives more than half of the presidential vote. (News18 Creative)
With a turnout of around 86.98 percent, Erdogan had 49.5 percent of the vote, with Kilikdaroglu trailing behind with 44.95 percent. (News18 Creative)
While Erdogan aimed to expand his transformative grip on power, his main challenger was Kemal Kilikdaroglu whose main unifying point was to oust Erdogan. (News18 Creative)
Erdogan defeated his secular opposition rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, by four percentage points – closer than in any other election, but close enough to end his political career undefeated in national elections. (News18 Creative)
The Islamic-origin leader’s prospects have been boosted by support for Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist who came out of nowhere to win 5.2 percent of the vote on May 14. (News 18 Creative)
This was the first run-off vote under Turkey’s new electoral system. Türkiye transitioned from a parliamentary system to a presidential system in July 2018. (News18 Creative)
Majid Alam is Senior Sub Editor at News18.com. He has reported stories on politics, policy, environment and health. he likes to mix data and shit,Read more
