Turkish Victory Party Says It Supports Kilicdaroglu In 2nd Round Of Presidential Elections

ISTANBUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2023) The Turkish nationalist Victory Party said on Wednesday that it had decided to support the opposition's presidential candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, in the second round of the election, while Kilicdaroglu in exchange undertook to expel all illegal migrants and refugees from Turkey within a year.

Former Turkish presidential candidate from the ATA alliance, Sinan Ogan, who finished third with 5.17% in the first round of the presidential election, said on Monday that he would support incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round. The alliance also included the Victory Party, but after the elections, the party announced the actual dissolution of the alliance. The party also received 2% of the vote in the parliamentary elections and did not enter parliament.

"One of the most acute problems for Turkey is the expulsion of 13 million illegal migrants and refugees.

We spend $11 billion to host them ... Kilicdaroglu at a meeting with us stressed the importance of the deportation of refugees. We decided to support Kilicdaroglu in the second round," party leader Umit Ozdag said at a joint press conference with Kilicdaroglu.

The parties agreed that "all refugees and illegal migrants, primarily Syrians, will be deported no later than a year (after the elections)," the protocol of the agreement between the candidate and the party seen by Sputnik read.

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu refuted Kilicdaroglu's statement that there were 10 million refugees in Turkey. The foreign minister noted that the number of refugees in Turkey had reached 5 million to date.

Turkey held parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. The first round saw Erdogan win 49.24% of votes and his main competitor, Kilicdaroglu, 45.07%. A runoff is set for May 28.