Ogan was born into a family of Azerbaijani origin in the border province of Igdir in 1967
The former candidate and hardline nationalist, Sinan Ogan, announced on Monday that he will support the outgoing President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the second round of the presidential elections in Turkey, scheduled for Sunday.
“I ask the voters who voted for us in the first round to vote for Erdogan in the second round,” said Ogan, who won 5.2 percent of the vote in the first round.
Erdogan won 49.5% of the vote, while his Social Democratic opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, won 44.9%, a difference of 2.5 million votes.
Ogan said, “Our negotiations took place on the following principles: fighting terrorism, setting a timetable for the return of refugees, and strengthening the institutions of the Turkish state.”
Its result illustrates the sudden surge in the conservative vote. The question remains: Which candidate will the 2.8 million people who voted for Ogan vote for, because part of his voters intended not to vote for Erdogan.
It can be said that the votes obtained by Oğan in the first round helped force Turkey into the first round of elections. Ogan Erdogan was denied a complete victory for the first time in his 20-year rule.
Ogan met the Turkish leader on Friday, while he held separate negotiations with allies of opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
“We will support the candidate of the People’s Alliance, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the second round of the May 28 elections,” he told reporters in remarks broadcast on national television.
Ogan portrays himself as an ardent supporter of the Turkish nationalism espoused by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.
He has demanded the immediate expulsion of millions of immigrants and sought to take a firm stand against “terrorists,” a reference to Kurdish groups fighting for greater autonomy in Turkey’s southeast.
The 54-year-old also tried to prevent the opposition from discussing constitutional changes that could water down language that stresses the importance of Turkish and Turks at the expense of other ethnicities.
Terrorism and refugees
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Analysts question how important Ogan’s support for Erdogan is.
His tiny party has only been around for a few months and most of his supporters seem unhappy with the Turkish leader with Islamist roots and his secular 74-year-old rival.
But it undermines Kilicdaroglu’s insistent efforts to broaden his appeal among nationalist voters in the run-up to the second round.
“Ogan’s newfound reputation as a kingmaker is an exaggeration,” Hamish Kinnear of consultancy Verisk Maplecroft told AFP. “Ogan’s support for Erdogan does not guarantee that his first-round voters will follow his lead.”
Kilicdaroglu, for his part, ran a more comprehensive campaign that focused on the economic crisis raging in Turkey and Erdogan’s crackdown on civil liberties during the second decade of his rule.
But he struck a decidedly more nationalist tone in his first post-election appearance last week.
He vowed to bring “all refugees home” upon assuming power, and accused Erdogan of failing to “protect his country’s borders and honor.”
Erdoğan had indicated that he had no intention of making any concessions to Oğan to secure his support in the run-off.
Kilicdaroglu sounded defiant in a tweet he posted moments after Ogan’s announcement.
He accused unnamed forces of “selling out this beautiful country” and indicated his intention to continue trying to attract the votes of nationalists.
“We are coming to save this country from terrorism and refugees,” Kilicdaroglu wrote.
He added, “This is a referendum. No one can deceive anyone anymore.”
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2023-05-22 18:03:02
