Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the presidential election, extending his rule to 2028. Erdogan defeated his secular opposition rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, by four percentage points. Erdogan had 49.5% of votes, while Kilicdaroglu had 44.95%. The four-point victory margin was Erdogan’s narrowest of any past election, highlighting the sharp polarization the Islamic-rooted conservative will contend with in his final term in office.
Turkey’s election had potential for fraud due to the non-transparent way the election results are processed. Once each ballot box is counted, the ballot and result sheet are transported by police in cities and the military in regional areas to the electoral commission. The candidate who receives more than 50% of votes in the first round is elected president, but if no candidate gets majority, the election goes to a second round between the top two candidates. Turkish Presidential candidates can be nominated by parties that have passed the 5% voter threshold in the last parliamentary election or those who have gathered at least 100,000 signatures supporting their nomination.
Erdogan will remain president of Turkey for another five years after winning Sunday’s run-off election over his long-time rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Erdogan’s chances have been bolstered by the endorsement of Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist who came out of seemingly nowhere to win 5.2 percent of the vote on May 14.
This was the first run-off vote under Turkey’s new electoral system. Turkey transitioned from a parliamentary system to a presidential one in July 2018. Erdogan now faces the tough task of uniting his deeply divided country after winning a historic run-off election.
