The stage is set for an unusual election thriller in Turkey when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leader Kemal Kiliçdaroglu meet in the second and decisive round of the election. The polling stations closed at 4pm on Sunday. The first figures at 5.20 pm showed staggering figures. The two largest news agencies, which are Anka and Anadolu, show different figures for the two candidates. – One must not overinterpret early figures in Turkish elections, says Professor of Turkish Studies Einar Wigen and continues: – Because they are to a small extent representative. Small circles are usually counted first, and the big cities take longer and come in later. At 5:38 p.m., the Anka news agency said Erdogan had 49.05 percent, while Kiliçdaroglu had 50.95 percent. By then, 67.27 per cent of the ballot boxes had been counted. Anadolu said at the same time that Erdogan had 54.78 percent, while Kiliçdaroglu had 45.22 percent of the vote, with 66.65 percent of ballot boxes counted. – It often gives the impression that those who are popular in the smaller places are likely to win, but the final results often come in later in the evening, says Wigen. The figures from both news agencies show that it is a close election. At the same time, these are unofficial figures, the official figures will be given by the country’s highest electoral authority YSK. Huseyin Kaya and his wife eat ice cream after voting for Erdogan in Istanbul. Photo: åse marit befring / news A married couple eats ice cream after casting their vote – for incumbent President Erdogan. – Erdogan wants to stabilize the economy. It cannot continue as it is now. I just bought ice cream and it cost 50 lira, says 67-year-old Huseyin Kaya. In a final offensive, Kiliçdaroglu called on Turkish voters to “get rid of this authoritarian regime” as he signed his vote in the capital, Ankara. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voted at the same time in Istanbul with his wife Emine. There he asked his voters to “turn up without complacency”. But who are the two presidential candidates? Turkey’s most powerful man The country’s 12th president, Erdogan (AKP) has been the country’s leader for two decades; he sat as Turkey’s prime minister in the period 2003–2014 and president since 2104 until today. Now he is fighting to get a third presidential term. Kemal Kiliçdaroglu is the leader of the Republican People’s Party, CHP. Photo: Emrah Gurel / AP But despite the fact that the 69-year-old politician has been the favorite in the run-up to the election, it is not a given that the sitting president will run away with the victory. Read also: If Erdogan wins: – Many talk about leaving “Turkey’s Gandhi” With a gentle and calm voice, “Turkey’s Gandhi” stands in stark contrast to Erdogan. Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, as he is actually called, leads the CHP and is probably Turkey’s most important opposition leader. Kiliçdaroglu has in any case gathered the strongest opposition Turkey’s most powerful politician, Erdogan, has experienced during his term as prime minister and president – even if the opposition fell short in the first round of elections. On May 14, Erdogan received 49.4 percent of the vote, while opposition leader Kiliçdaroglu received 44.96 percent. For over 20 years, Erdogan has governed Turkey in a direction that has made the country increasingly polarized and authoritarian. Read also: Censored Erdogan’s opponents Report attacks Opposition election observers have been attacked in a village in southeastern Turkey, according to the deputy leader of Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s party – the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Deputy leader Özgur Özel writes on Twitter that the party’s observers in the province of Sanliurfa were assaulted, beaten up and deprived of their mobile phones. The reason, according to Özel, is that they protested irregularities in the voting. CHP politician Ali Seker was present, according to Özel. A local journalist tweets that Seker was beaten.
ttn-69
The first figures are startling – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
