In an acceptance speech, Erdogan says that he has been given a mandate to govern for the next five years and that the only winner here is Turkey. Several media in Turkey declared victory for Erdogan, before all the votes had been counted. At 21:40 Norwegian time, the country’s highest electoral authority YSK confirmed that Erdogan has won the election. The incumbent president received 52.14 percent of the vote, while Kiliçdaroglu 47.86 percent, according to YSK. See pictures from election night here: Kemal Kiliçdaroglu criticized the election in a live speech at 8.45pm Norwegian time. – This was the most unfair election in several years, said the opposition leader. He also urged the supporters to “continue the fight for democracy”. – Poor understanding of roles Professor of Turkey Studies Einar Wigen believes it is unfortunate that the Turkish media declare victory to a candidate before all the votes have been counted. – This is part of the problems surrounding Turkish elections, that the media declares a winner, says Wigen and continues: – It shows a poor understanding of roles. It is up to the Electoral Council to declare a winner. Once the media declares a winner, it becomes difficult for the Electoral Council to declare in any other way. Pinar Tank is a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute in Oslo. She believes it is not surprising that Erdogan won. – Given his opportunities to control the political narrative surrounding his own leadership of the country, she says and elaborates: – Erdogan had a superior capacity to reach out to conservative voters who watch state-controlled media. Some of the major issues during the election have been the economy, the refugee situation and handling of the earthquake disaster. Several voters also lacked faith that the opposition could handle the major crises facing Turkey, Tank believes. – They have not been able to convince the voters because they are an alliance of various parties, and in the last two weeks they have changed their message of including all minorities by suddenly wanting to present themselves as hard-line nationalists. – Not a fair election – He is a man of the people, says Erdogan voter Ali Aydogan to news. In the city of Kahramanmaraş, you can hear people celebrating after the latest numbers from YSK. Despite the fact that the citizens were hit hard by the earthquake disaster, many voted for the incumbent president. When asked if Erdogan is to blame for the handling, Aydogan refutes criticism. Bookseller AL Aydogan very much hopes that incumbent President Erdogan wins. Photo: SIDSEL WOLD / news – No, it is not under his control. If there was a different government, we might not have come as far as we have now, he says. In Istanbul, news meets the 26-year-old journalism student Irem Ilyada Zoodsma and Yakup Özbay. They supported the opposition. – This was not a fair choice, says Zoodsma. – Are you sad? 26-year-old Irem Ilyada Zoodsma and Yakup Özbay supported the opposition in Turkey. Photo: åse marit befring / news – Yes, of course very sad. We will continue the fight, we will not stop, she says. 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 2014 until today. Now he will sit for another five years. Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party, CHP gave a speech after the election defeat. Photo: BULENT KILIC / AFP 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.
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