di Shorsh Surme –
Sinan Ogan, a Turkish presidential candidate from an ultranationalist alliance, announced his support for Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the runoff, making it more difficult for the opposition to oust the Turkish president. Turkish parliamentary and presidential elections were held on May 14. Erdogan’s alliance won most of the parliamentary seats but failed to win the presidency as he won 49.5% of the vote. Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu finished second gaining almost 45%. Therefore the electoral council announced that both candidates would run in the second round on 28 May. Sinan Ogan, whose support could be decisive in the runoff, finished third in the presidential election supported by the far-right Ancestral Alliance (ATA) party, which surprisingly obtained more than five percent of the vote. On Tuesday, after meeting with Erdogan and the opposition, he announced his decision to support the outgoing president.
Erdogan has been prime minister and president of Turkey since 2003, and was granted executive powers through a referendum in 2017.
Ogan said conditions include the repatriation of Syrian refugees, the exclusion of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) from the next government and the continuation of the fight against Kurdish rebels.
Erdogan told state media that he had not made any deals with Ogan, adding that his cabinet’s policy on refugees and the fight against Kurdish rebels would still satisfy Ogan’s demands. However Umit Ozdag, chairman of the Victory Party, which is the backbone of Ogan’s alliance, said minutes after Ogan’s announcement that his views do not reflect those of his party, adding that the political formation would announce in followed his positions. This is an early sign of division among the members of the ATA alliance. Kilicdaroglu implicitly criticized the third-place finisher for his decision, accusing him of “selling this beautiful country”. “We are coming to save this country from terrorism and refugees. This is a referendum: no one can fool anyone anymore,” Ogan wrote in a tweet, reiterating his nationalist rhetoric. Kilicdaroglu, who won the most votes in Kurdish areas and was supported by the HDP and its leftist allies, has vowed to release Kurdish political prisoners and end the repression of Kurdish politicians, activists and journalists. However, after realizing that nationalist votes are decisive on the ballot, he changed his tune in an attempt to please them. Kilicdaroglu has taken a much tougher tone on two issues that are top priority for nationalists: refugees and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Kilicdaroglu is the leader of the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
