Turkey's re-elected president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, celebrates in front of supporters at the presidential palace in Ankara. © Ali Unal/AP
After 20 years in power, Erdogan is elected for another five years in office. He speaks of a "century of Turkey". But the country is plagued by many problems.
Istanbul - After winning the presidential election in Turkey, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces major challenges. It is eagerly awaited how the outcome of today's election will affect the national currency, the lira. The currency has lost massive value over the past two years, with inflation in the country at around 44 percent.
Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate in the streets of Istanbul. © Emrah Gurel/AP
The 69-year-old Erdogan had won the run-off election against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu (74) yesterday. According to preliminary results of the electoral authority, Erdogan received about 52 percent of the vote, Kilicdaroglu about 48 percent. Voter turnout was 85 percent.
Erdogan struck both aggressive and conciliatory tones after his election victory in Ankara. He accused Western media of propaganda and described the opposition as terrorists. But he also said: "Today no one lost", all 85 million inhabitants of Turkey had won. Democracy has triumphed.
Clear majority of voters in Germany
In Germany, around 50 percent of eligible voters voted, according to the state news agency Anadolu. As in the first round, a clear majority of them spoke out in favor of Erdogan. At the level of around 95 percent of the ballot boxes counted from Germany, the incumbent came to 67.4 percent of the votes in this group, as the state news agency Anadolu reported. Overall, the election campaign was considered unfair, partly because of the government's media supremacy.
Erdogan has led Turkey for 20 years. In 2003 he became Prime Minister and in 2014 President of the Republic. Since the introduction of a presidential system in 2018, he has had more power than ever before. It is feared that he will govern even more authoritarian after the election. Turkey is a NATO member, maintains close relations with Russia as well as with Ukraine and is an actor in the Syrian civil war. Accordingly, the election was also followed with great attention internationally.
Focus on post-earthquake reconstruction
In October, Turkey celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of its republic. Erdogan therefore speaks of a "century of Turkey". He has promised further investment in the arms industry and infrastructure. One of its biggest tasks will be the reconstruction of the regions destroyed by the earthquake. In February, tens of thousands of people were killed in severe earthquakes in southeastern Turkey.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Erdogan on his election victory and praised the cooperation. "Germany and Turkey are close partners and allies – we are also strongly connected socially and economically," the SPD politician wrote on Twitter yesterday evening. "Now we want to push ahead with our common issues with renewed vigour."
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that it was of strategic importance for both the EU and Turkey to "advance these relations for the benefit of our peoples". US President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter that he congratulated Erdogan on his re-election. "I look forward to continuing to work together as a NATO ally on bilateral issues and common global challenges."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also congratulated Erdogan. Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the first to congratulate the Turkish president before the vote count ended. Erdogan sees himself as a mediator in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter: "I look forward to continuing our work together and preparing for the NATO summit in July." Turkey had so far blocked Sweden's accession to NATO and demanded concessions in the fight against terrorism. Observers assume that the Turkish parliament, in which Erdogan's alliance has a majority, will ratify the accession before the NATO summit. Dpa
