Researcher at Sciences Po, Bayram Balci is an internationally recognized expert on Turkey. Last Sunday, he commented with rare lucidity on the performance of Erdogan, who came close to re-election in the first round of the presidential election: "I am very surprised, disappointed, but also ashamed, personally. Because I see that I have misunderstood the Turkish voters."
To his credit, he is far from alone. Almost everyone thought that the serious economic crisis (50% inflation!), the tens of thousands of deaths from the recent earthquake, the authoritarian drift of power but also the rallying of the opposition behind a single candidate would deeply weaken the outgoing president, in power for twenty years. However, not only has Recep Tayyip Erdogan not collapsed, but he keeps all his chances for the second round, on May 28. Better still, his party, the AKP, also came out ahead in the general elections that took place on the same day as the presidential election.
" READ ALSO Elections in Turkey: "Neither the earthquake, nor inflation, nor recession will have got the better of Erdogan"
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