ER Editor: This is one in the eye for the western deep state establishment – the Swamp – who wanted pro-BRICS, pro-Russia/China Erdogan to fall.
On veteran Italian journalist Cesare Sacchetti’s Telegram channel for May 28, he posted this:
Trump was one of the first to extend his congratulations to Erdoğan. He’s rejoicing for his re-election. Turkey is very important for the Anglosphere. Their goal was to oust Erdoğan and replace him with a Soros puppet. Their plan has failed. Tonight globalism has suffered a tremendous defeat. The international patriotic alliance is stronger than ever.
See this from RT — Putin congratulates ‘good friend‘ Erdogan after Turkish elections Of note:
The Turkish president’s foreign policy – described by Putin as “independent” and Erdogan himself as “balanced” – has seen Türkiye strengthen ties with Russia and China while pushing its NATO allies for concessions, as Erdogan did when he demanded Sweden and Finland lift arms embargoes on his country and deport terror suspects before he would sign off on their accession to the alliance.
Türkiye is the sole NATO member that has not imposed sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, and Erdogan has taken a neutral stance on the conflict. Under his leadership, Türkiye hosted peace talks between Moscow and Kiev last year, and brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Erdogan, after winning the elections, promised to open a gas hub in Turkey at the suggestion of Putin. pic.twitter.com/FPkdPtwIzb
— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 29, 2023
This action appears in context by tweeter Elijah Magnier; not so by Reuters —
Either @Reuters needs to learn about #Turkey‘s local cultural tradition (here is a symbolic gift to children) or is showing a reality with malign intentions to allow other interpretations.
The victory of Erdogan was painful to mainstream media & the west.https://t.co/hHybMcEg6p
— Elijah J. Magnier 🇪🇺 (@ejmalrai) May 29, 2023
Supporters of #Erdogan in #Turkey pic.twitter.com/U8wi5kDWy5
— Arthur Morgan (@ArthurM40330824) May 28, 2023
President Biden declared war on Turkish President during his campaign, Biden supported and united Turkish opposition parties against President Erdogan overthrowing Erdogan in the election and undermined the wishes of the Turkish people, this is one of the most important goals of… pic.twitter.com/20wzZcAYOM
— Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad (@AbdiwahabSheik7) May 29, 2023
Trump congratulates Erdogan on election victory pic.twitter.com/1dwdYzAtzc
— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 28, 2023
Imran Khan congratulates Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his re-election as president.#ARYNews #PTI #ImranKhan #Erdogan pic.twitter.com/TIAs90cn3o
— ARY NEWS (@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL) May 29, 2023
🔖🇹🇷#TurkeyElections: Supporters celebrate after Erdogan’s Turkey election runoff win: Thousands of supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gather on Istanbul’s Asian shore for his first appearance after his victory in the second round of the presidential election. pic.twitter.com/3WObskCfAG
— worldnews24u (@worldnews24u) May 29, 2023
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Erdogan Wins Reelection To 5-Year Term As President After 20 Years In Power
Update(1424ET): It’s official, according to state media–Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been re-elected as Turkey’s president after passing the 50% threshold required for victory over his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
With 97 percent of ballot boxes opened, Erdogan has captured 52.1 percent of votes over Kilicdaroglu with 47.9 percent. He is Turkey’s longest running president in history, already long surpassing the rule of the Republic of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (at 15 years)
According to his victory speech before a jubilant crowd of supporters:
“We completed the second round of the presidential election with the favor of our nation. I would like to express my gratitude to my nation for giving us a day of democracy,” Erdogan said.
“The winners of both the 14 May elections and the 28 May elections are all our 85 million citizens,” he added.
And another interesting moment from the speech…
Erdogan rallies against the Turkish opposition for being pro-LGBT in his victory speech
“CHP, HDP and all others are pro-LGBT. But LGBT cannot infiltrate among us. We will be reborn. The family is sacred. The violence against women is forbidden”
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 28, 2023
Scenes from strongholds where Erdogan holds widespread support:
Erdogan’s lead in the presidential election has sparked nationwide celebrations in Turkey. From Istanbul to Gaziantep, citizens have taken to street to celebrate the results.
Unofficial data signals a resounding victory for President Erdogan 🇹🇷 #TurkishElection2023 pic.twitter.com/HTyvLSXACF
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) May 28, 2023
Earlier on Sunday (ER: see our comment above):
This is what honest politics looks like https://t.co/bVNHU0dcoA
— Dr. Benjamin Braddock (@GraduatedBen) May 28, 2023
* * *
By Sunday’s end Turkey is expected to have a clear winner in the election runoff and what marks a historic first of a vote which went to a second, final round to decide the nation’s president.
Earlier in the day incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cast his vote in Istanbul, while main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu voted in Ankara. The likely result is expected to be Erdogan securing a third term in office, given his performance in the first round, and crucially given Turkish nationalist candidate Sinan Ogan – who faired better than expected among the opposition – has now endorsed Erdogan for president. A by many accounts low turnout and lack of general enthusiasm for this second round is also a climate that favors incumbent Erdogan.
The May 14 first round vote saw Erdogan finish with a nearly five-point lead, but barely short of the 50% threshold required to win. On Sunday Erdogan said, “This is a first in Turkish democratic history” while casting his ballot.
“Turkey, with nearly 90% participation in the last round, showed its democratic struggle beautifully and I believe it will do the same again today,” he added.
Through the opening hours of voting there were accusations of irregularities and issues in various places, which is not unusual in a Turkish national election (ER: Nor in every other country it seems). Some local reports have claimed attacks on ballot observers, and one report of a deceased person listed as eligible to vote.
Additionally, Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor has announced an investigation into social media accounts spreading ‘disinformation’ just ahead of polls opening.
Turkish TV channel provides voting instructions in a humorous way, depicting Erdogan on one side and a faceless candidate on the other, highlighting the importance of free and fair elections
Erdogan Elections start in Turkey! 😅 pic.twitter.com/RaYh09sAso
— Russian Market (@runews) May 28, 2023
While more than 60 million people are registered to vote, one regional outlet – Middle East Eye – has observed turnout appears low and slow so far. This favors the incumbent.
Kilicdaroglu’s team has picked up on this, with the candidate tweeting for those who haven’t voted to “go to the ballot box” and not be “lazy”. He said the country’s future is on the line and is “as close as walking distance”.
#Turkish Prez #Erdogan casts his vote in decisive runoff presidential elections.
Opposition leader Kilicdaroglu has boldly claimed voting for Turkish Prez is “a sin”, and sincere Muslims wouldn’t commit such an act.
– IntelRepublic pic.twitter.com/rKjIspNFSv
— Arthur Morgan (@ArthurM40330824) May 28, 2023
* * *
Below is a quick primer and timetable of what to expect Sunday, compiled by Al Jazeera:
- Incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 69, seeks to extend his 20 years in power by a further five years.
- He faces 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the main opposition candidate.
- In the first round on May 14, Erdogan won nearly 50 percent of the vote, followed by Kilicdaroglu at about 45 percent.
- Sinan Ogan, an ultranationalist who was eliminated from the race after coming third in the first round with 5.2 percent of the vote, has thrown his support behind Erdogan.
- Sunday is the first time Turkish voters have ever had to go to the ballot box for a second time to pick their next president.
Turkey polls open
- The polls opened at 8am (05:00 GMT) and will close at 5pm (14:00 GMT).
- Turnout has been strong since the opening of the polls, and observers expect voter participation to be high. Turnout was 89 percent in the first round.
- As on May 14, Turkish citizens living abroad cast their ballots before election day. About 1.9 million voted in 73 countries and at border gates.
- Both Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu have voted, the former in Istanbul and the later in Ankara.
- With just two candidates facing off, it is widely expected that results will be available sooner than the first round – possibly in the evening.
Turkish electoral agenda
- The voting has so far gone off without any problems, according to electoral officials.
- In the lead-up to the first round, the campaign was largely centred on the state of the Turkish economy and the response to February’s devastating earthquakes, which killed tens of thousands of people in the south.
- The campaign shifted notably after the first round with the fate of refugees in Turkey and “terrorism” dominating.
- Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) along with its allies secured a majority in parliament in the polls held two weeks ago.
- The AK Party came first in 10 of the 11 provinces struck by the earthquakes despite being criticised for a slow initial response to the disaster.
- In the run-off, the number of voters has risen by more than 47,500 people who turned 18 over the past two weeks, taking the electorate in Turkey to almost 60.8 million.
Source
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Erdogan declares victory
Türkiye’s incumbent president has hailed the “democracy festival” that delivered him a second-round win
RT
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared victory after beating challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in a runoff election. Calling the election a “democracy festival,” Erdogan thanked “each and every member of the nation” for casting their votes.
“We have completed the second round of the presidential elections with the favor of our people,” Erdogan told a crowd of supporters in Istanbul on Sunday night. “We will be ruling the country for the coming five years. God willing we will be worthy of your trust as we have been for the last 21 years.”
Erdogan has been a singularly dominant figure in Turkish politics ever since he was elected prime minister in 2003. Three consecutive terms as premier were followed by two terms as president from 2014 onwards, and the conservative kingpin is now set to embark on a third term following Sunday’s win.
With more than 99% of votes counted, Erdogan was leading Kilicdaroglu by 52.07% to 47.93% at the time of his address, Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency reported. Although the country’s electoral commission has not yet declared a winner, Kilicdaroglu has no chance of closing the gap.
Heavily criticized for his government’s response to a pair of devastating earthquakes near the Syrian border in February, and with the Turkish economy wracked by persistently high inflation, Erdogan’s path to victory was longer this year than in previous elections. Erdogan beat Kilicdaroglu during a first round of voting on May 14, taking 49.5% to his challenger’s 44.8%. However, with neither candidate winning an absolute majority, a runoff election was announced, and third-place candidate Sinan Ogan, who took 5% of the vote, was eliminated.
In his speech on Sunday, Erdogan declared all of Türkiye’s 85 million citizens “victors.”
In the runup to both elections, Erdogan and his officials vehemently condemned the Western media for favoring Kilicdaroglu, a political centrist who vowed to mend ties with the US and NATO and to restart EU accession talks. By the end of his victory speech, Erdogan’s win had not yet been acknowledged by his American or western European counterparts, but the president had received congratulations from Hungary, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Qatar and Palestine, among others.
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Source
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