There are still no official results of the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections. With around 92 percent of the votes counted, current President Erdogan leads with 49.49 percent, while challenger and opposition leader Kilicdaroglu won with 44.49 percent. “The polls were completely wrong,” says Turkey correspondent Joost Lagendijk.
Turkey appears to be heading for a second round of elections on May 28 as incumbent President Erdogan appears to fail to win more than 50% of the vote. The head of Turkey’s electoral council said early this morning that Erdogan was leading by 49.49% with 91.93% of the ballot boxes counted. Kılıçdaroğlu got 44.49% of the vote. A second round also seems certain to Turkey correspondent Joost Lagendijk, especially now that Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu have said they are willing to participate.
Lagendijk finds the result surprising, polls have shown that Kilicdaroglu would still get more votes than Erdogan. It seems that the situation has changed. Now Erdogan has more votes and it seems that Erdogan will probably reach that 50% in two weeks with some ease. So the polls were pretty wrong.’
Lagendijk concludes that a poor economy and earthquake mismanagement ultimately have no bearing on the voting behavior of many voters. candidate Sinan Ogan received about 5 percent of the vote, according to Lagendijk his profile is so nationalist that his voters will vote more for Erdogan than for Kilicdaroglu in the next round.
“So the polls were pretty wrong”
Before a cheering crowd of supporters, an energetic and euphoric Erdoğan said, “The fact that the election results are not yet final does not change the fact that our nation’s choice is clearly in our favor.” Despite Turkey’s top electoral council, the YSK, saying the count had not yet been completed in parliamentary or presidential elections, Erdoğan said his alliance had won a majority.
Lies
“We think I’ll finish above 50% in the first round,” he added, which would win the presidential election without the need for a second round. Erdoğan’s rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also gave a speech: ‘Despite all of his lies and attacks, Erdoğan did not achieve the desired result. No one should be thrilled that this is a done deal. Elections are not won on the balcony.
He added: “We will definitely, definitely win this election in the second round. Everyone will see it. Preliminary results show that Erdoğan has not gained the public trust he expected. The need for change in society is over 50%. This is also evident from the AKP’s loss of votes. The onboarding process [verkiezings]the data is in progress. If the nation opts for a second round, it is more than welcome.”
Parliament
Turkish voters today not only voted for a new president but also to fill 600 seats in parliament. Erdogan’s AKP party (AKP) garnered the most votes, but didn’t do as well as its leader. The AKP received 35% of the vote, with more than 96% of the votes counted, the state-run AA news agency said. This is the AKP’s worst result since the first elections in 2002, when the party won 34.28% of the vote.
‘It is also clear in the parliamentary elections, and again to some surprise, that the governing coalition, including Erdogan’s party, has achieved a good majority in parliament. So in two weeks it’s all about who becomes president.”
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.
