After a long wait and speculation, the third candidate in the Turkish presidential elections, Sinan Ogan, announced on Monday that he will support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round of the elections, in which the latter will compete with the opposition candidate, Kemal Kijdaroglu.
Sinan Ogan’s statements came during a press conference held in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
“We will support the candidate of the People’s Alliance, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the second round scheduled for May 28,” Ogan said.
He said that the decision to support Erdogan came after consulting with the leaders of the “grandparents” coalition, which he represented in the first round of the presidential elections.
He added that the Turkish opposition did not provide him with convincing reasons to support its candidate in the second round of elections.
Ogan, who won 5 percent of the vote in the first round of the Turkish presidential elections, set last Friday a date to reveal who will support him in the second round, scheduled for May 28.
The sudden meeting
But Friday ended without announcing the support of Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu, who are competing in this round.
On the same day, Erdogan unexpectedly visited Ogan in his office in Istanbul.
The two parties did not make any statements after the meeting.
“Kingmaker”
Ogan represents the nationalist “Ata” or “ancestors” alliance, and belongs to the “Victory” party, which opposes the presence of refugees in Turkey.
After the first round of the Turkish presidential elections, which took place on May 14, all eyes turned to Sinan Ogan, and he became known as the “king-maker.”
Erdogan and Kılıçdaroğlu failed to win more than 50 percent of the votes needed to decide the position of president, so they need the votes of Oğan.
During the past days, Ogan kept Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu in a state of waiting and anticipation for his position, and he said that there is nothing for free, demanding positions and following certain policies.
But he indicated that he might call on his supporters to support Erdogan.
Although Kilicdaroglu repeatedly courted Ogan, and used harsher language towards refugees, he failed to attract Ogan to his side.
Sinan Ogan has two red lines:
- Fighting terrorism.
- Returning refugees, especially Syrians, to their countries.
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2023-05-22 14:39:04
