They voted. The outgoing president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in power for twenty years, and the leader of the opposition, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, each deposited their ballot in the ballot box late Sunday morning, May 28, on the occasion of the second round of the presidential election. More than 60 million Turkish voters are called to the polls to elect their future head of state, who will sit for five years. To win, the two candidates still in the running tried to consolidate their base while chasing the votes of the third man in this election, the ultranationalist Sinan Ogan. Follow our live.
Erdogan is the favourite. The outgoing president has a comfortable lead over his rival. In the first round, on May 14, Recep Tayyip Erdogan came out on top with 49.5% of the vote, ahead of Kemal Kiliçdaroglu with 44.9%. Sinan Ogan, who obtained 5.2% of the votes, gave his support to the incumbent president for the second round. The chances of victory for the opposition candidate, who created the surprise during the first round campaign, have therefore been reduced.
Kiliçdaroglu calls for “getting rid of an authoritarian regime”. After voting in Ankara, the capital, the opposition candidate urged the Turks to end Erdogan’s rule, which has lasted for more than two decades. For his part, Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Turkish democracy. “No country in the world has turnout rates of 90%, Turkey has almost reached them. I ask my fellow citizens to come and vote without weakening”said the outgoing president.
The Turkish diaspora has already voted. Turks abroad have already voted, between 20 and 24 May. They moved more for the second round, with 1.9 million voters, against 1.69 million in the first. According to the official Anadolu news agency, the Turkish diaspora in France, around 700,000 strong, voted mainly for Erdogan in the first round (nearly 65% according to the Turkish press).
Erdogan’s majority coalition in parliament. The legislative elections, held on Sunday May 14, saw Erdogan’s alliance triumph. Composed of its Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its allies, in particular the Nationalist Action Party (extreme right), the coalition won 322 seats out of 600, against 213 for the opposition alliance, which includes the Republican People’s Party (CHP) of Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, and 65 seats for the pro-Kurdish left coalition.