/ world today news/ This can only be called an “epic” spin by the Western media, while Erdogan won huge support in the presidential race.
Just hours after it became clear that Turkey’s long-awaited and internationally watched presidential election would go to a runoff, the Western media backed down on its biased rhetoric against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose first-round success was widely described as a “surprise. “
Some 61 million Turks were called to the polls on Sunday to elect Turkey’s 13th president and 600 members of parliament, three months after two catastrophic earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people, left millions displaced and homeless in the southeast, amid a cost-of-living crisis, at that.
Erdogan and his main rival, Kemal Kulçdaroğlu, along with two other candidates, one of whom dropped out of the race just days before the vote, have campaigned tirelessly, building their promises around a determination to revive the earthquake-hit provinces and deliver greater economic growth.
However, the period was not without outside influence, especially in the form of blatant biases.
The Economist in particular has waged an intense campaign against Erdogan, publishing provocative covers, openly supporting his opposition, conveniently ignoring Turkey’s democratic process, and calling on Turks to “kick Erdogan out” on May 14.
The magazine often drew the ire of Turkish officials and social media users in the final months before the election for trying to target voters and openly admitting that “an opposition victory would mean great geopolitical significance for the West.”
However, Erdogan’s 49.51% support in the first round was enough even for The Economist to back down, delete anti-Erdogan tags on its social media profiles in just minutes and admit that Erdogan now “looks the clear favorite to win in the second round.”
With more than 99% of ballot boxes open on Monday, Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) counted only 45% for the closest candidate, Erdogan Kulçdaroğlu, who heads a six-party opposition alliance that also “performed even worse” in the parliamentary vote, according to the London-based weekly’s article titled “Erdogan leads rival as Turkey votes.”
The National Union won 35.1%, meaning about 213 of the 600 seats in parliament, losing its majority to Erdogan’s People’s Union, which walked away with 49.4%, enough to retain a comfortable majority – roughly 321 seats – in the assembly.
“The Turks have not given up on democracy, the voter turnout in the elections shows it. More than 88% of eligible voters went to the polls on May 14, a very high number by any standard,” the magazine said.
According to the British magazine, the election was “highly at stake” for both Turkey and its foreign policy, “especially its relationship with Russia.”
Like The Economist, the tune changed rather quickly in other media outlets in Western Europe, with agencies in France, Germany and Switzerland declaring Erdogan the “clear favorite” likely to win the May 28 runoff.
“If there is a run-off in two weeks, the incumbent president will probably have the lead,” wrote Germany’s FAZ.
Pointing to the parliamentary majority of the Justice and Development Party (AKD), he argued: “This could convince many voters in the second round to vote for stable conditions instead of a candidate who will not have his own majority in parliament.”
According to France24, third-party candidate Sinan Ogan’s votes will go “overwhelmingly” to Erdogan in the runoff, sealing a guaranteed victory for the incumbent.
For another German newspaper, Die Welt, Erdogan’s nearly 50% was a “big surprise success.”
“Apparently a significant number of Turks consider him a savior,” the statement said.
Switzerland’s NZZ agreed, noting that Erdogan “restored the trust of 26 million Turks as he scored the best results across the country in the earthquake region.”
“Parliamentary allocation also gives him a strong hand,” it said.
In fact, Erdogan has vowed to revive the disaster-hit area and build at least 319,000 homes within the year. His government has already handed out keys to hundreds of victims’ homes.
He has often criticized “interference from the West” as attempts to “interfere” in Turkey’s domestic politics, as well as Kulçdaroğlu’s promises to “repair ties with the US and the EU” if he wins the top job.
“You cannot decide the fate of my country; it depends on my nation,” Erdogan repeated at several rallies across the country.
Translation: SM
Sign the Peace and Sovereignty Referendum on
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