Not quite a win, but certainly not a loss. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Islamo-conservative autocrat at the head of the country for twenty years, said he was convinced, in the middle of the night in front of a tide of supporters, “to serve his country for another five years”. His rival, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, displayed the same confidence: he promised his camp that he would “absolutely win in the second round”, emphasizing “the need for change in society”.
The Turkish presidential election, which took place yesterday, Sunday May 14, seems to lead to a historic second round on May 28 next. According to the official Anadolu agency, out of 98.72% of the votes, the outgoing president, leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), obtains 49.34% of the votes; 45% for Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). If, at the beginning of the night, the vote of the diaspora unveiled in dribs and drabs still left some uncertainty hanging over, the results – still partial – of this Monday morning (nearly 75% of votes) almost reduced it to nothing to hold a second round.
“We will respect” the second round
“We don’t know yet if the election is over with this first round but if the people take us to the second round, we will respect it” promised the “reis”, at the head of the country for two decades. This is the first time that the head of state, 69, would be forced to appear a second time before the voters for lack of having gathered 50% of the votes. It was penalized by citizens worn out by an economic crisis, with a currency devalued by half in two years and inflation that exceeded 85% in the fall.
During the evening, the two camps fought a battle of numbers, urging their respective observers to stay on the counting sites “until the end”. Social Democrat Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, a 74-year-old former senior civil servant who led an unprecedented coalition of six opposition parties, was regularly given the lead by polling institutes, even by a short head – unlike the agency Anadolu official. The third candidate, Sinon Ogan, dissident of the nationalist party MHP credited with around 5% of the votes, is preparing to negotiate them without specifying with whom.
The participation rate, it seems close to 90%, has not been officially communicated. On Sunday, the 64 million Turkish voters also had to choose the 600 deputies who will sit in the unicameral parliament in Ankara. Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed “half” for his camp.