Today, the Turkish Head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reelected by an absolute majority of the votes cast in the first round.
More than 56 million voters were called to ballot for the presidential election but also for the legislative elections. Mr. Erdogan was seeking a new mandate after 15 years of undivided reign. These early elections occur 19 months ahead of the schedule, as requested by the president
« The winner of this election is democracy, the national will. The winner of this election is each of the 81 million of our fellow citizens » Erdogan declared on Sunday, while his supporters cheered him in front of the headquarters of the Justice and Development Party (AKP, Islamic-conservative, in power), in Ankara.
According to the state-run Anatolian news agency, Erdogan was at the top of the presidential election with a score of 52.5% after counting more than 99% of the ballot boxes, and the AKP-dominated alliance led with 53.61% in the legislative part of the vote. Its main competitor, the Social Democrat Muharrem Ince, came in second in the presidential election with 30.7% votes, while the anti-Erdogan alliance formed by several opposition parties for the legislative part of the poll collects 34%, according to the partial results published by Anatolia.
The opposition questions the results and denounces fraud. The MP Bülent Tezcan, spokesman for the Republican People’s Party (CHP), at a press conference at his party’s headquarters in Ankara, denounced « a gross manipulation » of the Anatolian agency that transmits results « unreal ». Fearing fraud, especially in the Kurdish-dominated Southeast, opponents and NGOs mobilized several hundred thousand observers to monitor polling stations. « In the region, there were assaults, threats to arrest our observers, » Tezcan said.
« Whether you like it or do not like it, you have to admit that Erdogan knows how to read the Turkish people, » confirms Bayram Balci, director of the French Center for Anatolian Studies in Istanbul. He observes that « the vogue of populist powers is not reserved for Turkey alone ». Indeed, the very first congratulatory message received by Erdogan for his re-election, came from Viktor Orbán, the far-right Hungarian Prime Minister.
Jean-Hugues Migeon
For further information:
About the situation in Turkey – EU-Logos Website – « Situation des droits de l’Homme en Turquie: que fait l’Europe ? » by Maurane Delpeuch
http://www.eu-logos.org/?p=23075
About the fraud’s allegation – Le Monde Website
La Libre Website
Liberation Website
http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2018/06/25/turquie-et-a-la-fin-c-est-erdogan-qui-gagne_1661660
