The New York Times showed the fall in Erdogan’s votes with maps and graphs

While the presidential election was left for the second round after the May 14 elections, the New York Times, one of the main US newspapers, wrote a shocking story about the election. In news stories made with charts and maps, the headline “Turkey’s Election Map: Why Erdogan Missed the Runoff” was used.

In the news signed by Lauren Leatherby, the comment was made that “Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been ruling Turkey for a long time, was unable to exceed the 50 per cent required vote and for the first time in his career, made the second round”. Recalling that Erdogan was the candidate with the most votes in the first round, it was stated that “Erdogan got the most votes and upset opposition voters who expected a quick victory.”

However, the New York Times, which published the maps and graphs made with the data obtained from Anadolu Agency, said: “However, support for Erdogan declined in almost all regions of the country compared to the 2018 presidential election. Some of the steepest drops were in Turkey’s largest cities, Istanbul and Ankara. While it was claimed that Erdogan was victorious in both cities in 2018, it was also recalled that “Erdogan is still ahead in many cities, but he lost votes compared to 2018.”

It was also recalled that the tendency to vote for Erdogan is low on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts and southeastern Turkey, where opposition voters have voted in the past, and this is less visible than in other provinces. The article also commented: “This vote can be considered a referendum on the performance of Erdogan, who has ruled the country for 20 years.”