Turkish Foreign Minister Expects Erdogan To Gain Over 56% In 2nd Election Round

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2023) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu expects that incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will gain over 56% of votes in the second round of the presidential election as the leader outran his main competitor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, during the first round.

"In the first round, 49.5% is a figure that every leader in the world cannot even dream of. As a result, the people showed their goodwill, but in the second round, as you can see, more than 56% will vote for the incumbent president. Polls are showing the development in this direction. People abroad are eager to vote," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster TV100 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Sinan Ogan, the third-placed candidate in the first round, announced on Monday his support for Erdogan in the upcoming runoff and called on his supporters to vote for the incumbent president.

Last week, Ogan announced a series of conditions that will be key to his decision to support any of the candidates. Among other things, he demanded that no seats be given to members of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party, which he said is a political wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered a terrorist organization and banned in Turkey.

In the first round of the election, Erdogan received 49.52% of the vote, while Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition alliance, got 44.88%. Ogan came in third with over 5%, making him a potential kingmaker in the second round scheduled for May 28.