Türkiye will hold the second round of its presidential election on Sunday. The Turkish people will determine whether this unprecedented event represents a brand new election, or merely a continuation of the first round.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received 49.5 percent of the vote in the first round, ahead of his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who received 44.9 percent.
This means that Erdogan will enter Sunday’s election with an advantage. The fact that his People’s Alliance successfully claimed a parliamentary majority on 14 May is another significant advantage.
Deriving confidence from these results, Erdogan has decided to stick to the main focus of his first-round campaign: appealing to voters with the slogan of “keep going with the right man”.
Erdogan seems to think that nationalists are receptive to the notion that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the organisation of Fethullah Gulen, which is designated as a terror group (FETO), have endorsed Kilicdaroglu’s presidential bid; he blends that argument with the assertion that his own brand of politics is inclusive…
Read more on Middle East Eye: Turkey elections: Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu battle for nationalist vote
