The current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, failed to win the first round of presidential elections. According to the results of the vote count, he scored 49.35%, RBC reports. His main rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, received 45%.
The second round is scheduled for May 28.
On May 14, presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Turkey. Voting ended at 17:00 Moscow time. Over 3.4 million registered voters abroad could vote on May 9 at polling stations organized by Turkish embassies in 73 countries. In total, 191,884 ballot boxes were installed in the country and abroad. 64 million Turkish citizens have the right to vote.
Three candidates participated in the presidential elections in Turkey – the current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and the ATA Alliance candidate, Sinan Ogan.
The main struggle for the highest state post unfolded between Erdogan and Kilichdaroglu. Local political scientists did not rule out holding presidential elections in Turkey in two rounds. In this case, the second round will take place on May 28.
According to Kommersant, citing Turkish political scientist Kerim Has, it is generally accepted that Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a more “profitable” partner for Russia.
“As for the victory of Kılıçdaroglu, little will change in this area, in my opinion,” the expert believes. “Turkey now cannot afford the luxury of imposing any kind of sanctions against Moscow. The economy of the republic is not in a very good condition. So in the long run it is even possible that the victory of the opposition in the elections is more beneficial for Russia. Kılıçdaroglu will not take any drastic steps, unlike President Erdogan.”
Recall that Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power for more than 20 years.
The presidential elections were held against the backdrop of economic problems in the country. So, over the past year, prices in Turkey have grown by almost 65%, while the Turkish lira has weakened by 80% in five years. Another problem for Erdogan was the earthquake in February this year, which killed 50 thousand people and left more than 1.5 million homeless.
Source: Rosbalt
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