Beyond borders: Overseas voters in Türkiye's May 14 elections
Türkiye faced a historic election on May 14. In accordance with the presidential government system, both the presidential election and the 28th-term parliamentary general election were held on the same day. According to the results announced by the Supreme Election Council (YSK), the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which received 35.6% of the votes and 268 deputies, finished ahead in the general election. All four parties of the People’s Alliance, with a total of 322 deputies, received 49.4% of the vote, outperforming the Nation Alliance by about 15 points. Thus, the will to represent the nation in Parliament until 2028 has been finalized.
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Where campaigns of Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu differ
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who won the May 14 elections, built his second-round campaign around the inclusive motto of “Türkiye’s Great Victory.” In line with his "balcony" speech on election night, that campaign signals that the entire country – except terrorists – will win on Sunday. In truth, this is Erdoğan’s way of inviting the supporters of all parties to help build the "Century of Türkiye" over the next five years.
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Sinan Oğan, who contested the presidential election as the ATA Alliance’s candidate, endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of Sunday’s second round. Rejecting allegations of a “deal” between himself and the incumbent, he insisted that he acted in line with his “principles” and highlighted the importance of “stability” with reference to the People’s Alliance’s parliamentary majority.
Understanding Türkiye’s Election Outcomes
Türkiye successfully held a historic election in line with democratic maturity. Governments around the world watched closely as 88.92% of eligible voters participated in the election and Turkish democracy proved its strength yet again. In the end, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan beat his opponent, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, by almost 5 percentage points. Meanwhile, the People’s Alliance claimed 322 parliamentary seats – the majority – with 49.5%.
Tens of millions of Turks went to the polls and cast their votes last Sunday to choose the next president and the 600-seat Parliament. Over 30 political parties and five multiparty political coalitions (the People’s Alliance, the Nation Alliance, the ATA Alliance, the Labor and Freedom Alliance, and the Union of Socialist Forces Alliance) competed in the elections. At first, there were four official candidates, namely, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Sinan Oğan and Muharrem Ince. However, after the withdrawal of Ince, only three of them competed for the Presidency.
Turkish elections hang in the ‘who’s the true nationalist’ balance
The election campaign has finally boiled down to a debate over the “real” nationalists. It is hardly surprising that nationalism, which has been on the rise globally since former U.S. President Donald Trump’s term, remains critically important in Türkiye – which continues to combat terrorists.
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First-round, second-round and post-election scenarios in Türkiye
Türkiye has reached the election’s home stretch as voters abroad began to cast their votes on Thursday.
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We are confident that this issue of Insight Turkey entitled “Türkiye at the Crossroads: The 2023 Election” will addresses some of the issues that have been dominating the political agenda lately in Türkiye and we hope and believe that the insightful and stimulating debates raised on the issue will be helpful to our readers.
With nearly 50 days left until the Turkish elections, the People’s Alliance and the Nation Alliance are doing everything possible to win the Presidency in the first round.
