Erdogan and his opponent Kilicdaroglu are mobilizing their supporters for the runoff election in two weeks – and are also campaigning for the votes of the camp around the right-wing candidate Sinan Ogan.
Third-place finisher Sinan Ogan, who was eliminated in the race for Turkey’s presidency, plans to announce next week who he will support in the run-off election. On May 28, the winner of the first round of voting, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu will take office. There will probably be a statement in the course of the next week, said the spokeswoman for the right-wing candidate of the German Press Agency on Friday.
Great importance is attached to the voices of the nationalist camp. It is disputed whether a recommendation from Ogan will tip the scales. According to preliminary results, opposition candidate Kilicdaroglu was almost 5 percentage points behind Erdogan in the first round of voting last Sunday, who is the favorite in the runoff. The incumbent president got 49.52 percent in the first round, as the electoral authority announced on Friday evening. The numbers deviate only minimally from the provisional final result.
Ogan got a good five percent of the vote in the first round on May 14. He ties an election recommendation for Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu to assurances. He demands, for example, that all refugees leave the country or that the “fight against terror” be stepped up.
Media have reported a planned meeting between Kilicdaroglu and Ogan. That is not yet certain, said his spokeswoman on Friday. There are also talks between Ogan and the ruling AKP, Vice President Fuat Oktay said, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. But this is not about negotiations.
Erdogan appeals to Turks abroad
Before the second round of the Turkish presidential election, Erdogan had also asked Turks abroad to vote. “I expect you, the representatives of our nation abroad, to once again stand up for your will,” Erdogan wrote on Twitter. “I ask you to make sure you exercise your democratic rights.”
In Germany, eligible voters can cast their votes from Saturday. The 1.5 million voters can vote at a total of 17 locations in Germany until May 24, according to the Turkish electoral authority.
Erdogan is likely to hope again for a clear majority of the votes from abroad: According to preliminary results, voters abroad voted 57.5 percent for Erdogan in the election on May 14. In Germany, he provisionally received 65 percent of the votes. The results in Germany and abroad were significantly better for Erdogan than overall. Erdogan wrote to the voters: “Each of you has already engraved your name in golden letters in our political history.”
Overall, Erdogan also received the most votes, but just missed the 50 percent mark necessary for a win in the first round. Challenger Kilicdaroglu received preliminary figures after 45 percent of the vote. From May 20, voting will be possible abroad and at border crossings, ports and airports in Turkey.
Source: Stern
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