A historic run-off election is being held today after no candidate received 50 percent of the vote in Turkey`s presidential election on May 14. The fate of this election is decided between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his strong rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu. In the first phase of the election, Erdogan was denied an outright victory for the first time in his 20-year rule. Erdogan fell just short of the 50 percent needed to win. He got 49.51 percent votes.
Therefore, there are many speculations surrounding this election. The 69-year-old Erdogan is looking forward to the third decade of his consecutive rule. He is quite a bit ahead of his opponent in terms of popularity. The results of several polls about the run-off election also say so. Among them, an organization named Eurasia Group Consultancy showed that Erdogan`s probability of winning in the runoff election is 80 percent. If he wins this election, his Islam-centric rule will extend till 2028.
Analysts believe that this election in Turkey is very important. Secular politics has been absent from Turkish politics for two long decades. Many have accused the long-term Erdogan government of authoritarian rule. There are also accusations of suppressing opposition, including controlling the media. Western media has been spreading propaganda against him for a long time. Secularists want Kemal Kilicdaroglu`s coalition to return to power.
Even United States, wants a secular government to come to power in Turkey. Erdogan has played a role in establishing long-standing diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, including Iran, Syria, and Qatar. The U.S. believes that Turkey has staked its monopoly on influence in the Middle East. So they want to see the anti-Erdogan camp in power.
But there are valid reasons for the West to become worried. On Monday, Erdogan and Sinan Ogan, the nation`s new generation`s "king," exchanged a formal greeting. The winner of Turkey`s presidential election, the King Maker, received 5.17 percent of the vote in the first round and has since forgotten his past animosity. Ogan urged the people who had voted for him in the first round to do the same for Erdogan in the second.
The National Alliance, a coalition of six opposition parties, is fighting against Erdogan in the election. The leadership is led by the Republican People`s Party (CHP), the ancient party founded by Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Among the anti-Erdogan opposition, the secular leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has shown the best performance. The retired bureaucrat of Kurdish origin received nearly 45 percent of the vote in the first round of elections. The 74-year-old politician defied ethnic barriers and the Erdogan administration`s extensive control over media and state institutions.
Additionally, Kilicdaroglu has pledged a return to parliamentary government and conventional economic policy. Furthermore, he promised free media, non-repression of criticism, and judicial independence. For these reasons, many analysts believe that Kilicdaroglu`s victory could signal the end of the Erdogan era in Turkey.
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