After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fell ill during a television interview on Tuesday, the question arose as to what the impact would be on the upcoming elections. But according to Turkey correspondent Joost Lagendijk, he will soon be back on the electoral path. “On Thursday he already opened a new nuclear power plant in video link, together with Putin.”
Erdogan fell ill during a televised interview on Tuesday evening, after which the broadcast was briefly interrupted. His campaign activities for Wednesday and Thursday have been interrupted. But now it appears the president is all but recovered, Lagendijk thinks, after what was probably stomach flu. “I expect he will be back in the country soon.”
The opposition, the six-man bloc, united behind Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). He’s doing pretty well in the polls right now. ‘
On Thursday he was already digitally present at the opening of a new nuclear power plant. ‘Because it was built by Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin was also there. The two may have talked about a number of other things online.’ The Russian president said he supported Erodogan in the election.
No majority in the first round
The race remains exciting, says Lagendijk. The opposition, the six-man bloc, united behind Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). He’s doing pretty well in the polls right now. Though the problem for Kilicdaroglu is that there are two other opposition candidates outside the bloc, who are likely to get between 6 and 8 percent. This could mean that no candidate gets a majority in the first round on May 14, leading to a second round two weeks later.’
Lagendijk is also curious what the Dutch-Turks will do this time. In the past, half of Dutch Turks did not vote. Of the Turks who did, half voted for Erdogan. “One might expect that among people who have not previously voted there are relatively many opponents of Erdogan. And maybe they will go to the polls just this once and vote for the opposition.’
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
