Voters in Turkey returned to the polls on Sunday, May 28, 2023 to determine whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been the country’s leader for 20 years, will get another five-year term or will be unseated by opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Erdogan, is favored to win the runoff, after coming just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14, 2023. The May 14 election was the first that Erdogan did not win outright.
More than 64 million people are eligible to cast ballots. The polls opened at 8 am and will close at 5pm.
Erdogan has retained the support of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for raising Islam’s profile in the Turkey, which was founded on secular principles, and for extending the country’s influence in world politics. If he wins, Erdogan, 69, could remain in power until 2028.
The two candidates offered sharply different visions of the country’s future, and its recent past during their campaign.
Kilicdaroglu, 74, is a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. He campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies, and to improve ties with the West.
After casting his ballot, told reporters, “This election took place under very difficult circumstances, there was all sorts of slander and defamation.”
“But I trust in the common sense of the people. Democracy will come, freedom will come, people will be able to wander the streets and freely criticize politicians.”
Kemal Kilicdaroglu
Kilicdaroglu pledged a very different style of presidency on his final day of campaigning. He said, “I have no interest in living in palaces. I will live like you, modestly… and solve your problems.”
It was a jab at Erdogan’s enormous palatial complex on the edge of Ankara which he moved to when he switched from Prime Minister to President in 2014.
The outcome of the runoff vote could have implications far beyond Turkey, as the country stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.
First Presidential Runoff Election In Turkey’s History
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at a school in Istanbul, Erdogan disclosed that it is the first presidential runoff election in Turkey’s history.
Also, the Turkish President hailed the high voter turnout in the first round and said that he expected participation to be high again on Sunday. He voted at the same time as Kilicdaroglu, as local television showed the rivals casting ballots on split screens.
“I pray to God, that it (the election) will be beneficial for our country and nation,” he said.
Following the May 14 election, international observers stated that the criminalization of dissemination of false information and online censorship shows that Erdogan had an “unjustified advantage.” Also, they noted that strong turnout depicted the resilience of Turkish democracy.
In a bid to ensure no vote-rigging takes place, both at polling stations and later at the election authority, Opposition parties deployed an army of about 400,000 volunteers.
Despite whoever emerges as winner on Sunday, Turkey’s parliament is already firmly in the hands of Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted political party and its far-right nationalist ally, the MHP. Erdogan’s AK party and its allies retained a majority of seats in parliament following a legislative election that was also held on May 14, 2023.
