Erdogan inaugurates his “Century of Turkey” after declaring his victory in the presidential elections

The Turkish president obtains the victory in an unprecedented second round amid criticism from the opposition to the development of the elections

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan has inaugurated this Sunday the path towards his political ideal of the “Turkey century” after declaring his victory in an unprecedented and hard-fought second round of the presidential elections, which has led his Justice and Development party to force all its machinery election due to the tough rivalry presented by his opponent, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, amid criticism from the opposition for episodes of violence and intimidation during the course of the day.

Erdogan has not waited for the final data to proclaim his victory and has gone out before the crowd from his residence in Kisiki, in Istanbul, after learning that the official Anadolu news agency gave him the winner according to his own private count. In the end, the Supreme Electoral Council, the highest electoral authority in the country, has certified the victory of the president with an approximate percentage of 52.1 percent of the votes compared to 47.9 of his rival, pending final adjustments.

“We have completed the second round of the presidential elections with the favor of our nation,” the president stated in his first words. “We have won in such a way that no one has lost. The only winner is Turkey,” he added in his first appearance before the population, reported by TRT Haber.

“We have traveled this path together,” added Erdogan, already from Ankara. “We walk day and night because God has entrusted us with this duty. God willing, we will continue to build and rejuvenate together the ‘Century of Turkey”, he has stressed.

The victory gives Erdogan five more years to carry out his great dream, this “century of Turkey”, the claim of a historical ideal for the country coinciding with the centenary of the foundation of the Turkish republic by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923, although His critics understand that the president is moving away from the original precepts by emphasizing traditionalist, conservative and religious values.

The last-minute support granted by the nationalist parties has been of no use to Kiliçdaroglu, who at 74 has possibly found himself facing his last great opportunity to come to power.

The leader of the Peoples’ Republican Party has received support in the east of the country, the scene of enormous tensions between Ankara and the Kurdish population, given the war campaign that the Army is waging against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). ), but neither the new endorsements nor the hardening of his anti-migration discourse to win the conservative vote have made a dent in Erdogan’s proposal.

Although the Supreme Electoral Council has assured that the vote has taken place without incident, CHP deputy Ali Seker has denounced to the Hark TV channel that he has been attacked in the province of Sanliurfa, in the southeast of the country, when he denounced that a group of men was trying to vote on behalf of the women in their families.

“The real sadness I have is that difficulties await this country,” declared the CHP leader, who thanked his political allies and his voters for their efforts to “protect the ballot box against immoral and illegal pressure” from the supporters of the president.

However, shortly after the end of the elections, a prominent mayor of the opposition leader’s party urged Kiliçdaroglu to leave the party’s leadership in favor of a rising political figure such as the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu.

“We thank Mr. Kiliçdaroglu for his efforts but he was deceived, especially in the first round, that he put his own interests before the interests of the country,” said the mayor of Bolu province, Tanju Ozcan. “My historic appeal! Imamoglu must immediately become the head of the CHP. Full stop,” he added in his message, posted on his Twitter account.

In the midst of this scenario, the Turkish president has to assume right now that his victory in the elections is far from the crush predicted by the best forecasts, which is why media analysts such as the pan-Arab chain Al Jazeera predict a more conciliatory next five years. Aware of this, and while he began to receive applause from his international allies, the Turkish president appeared before the population with a unity speech.

“Without compromising our democracy, development and goals, we have now opened the door of the Turkish century. But we open it together. Together, we have made the dreams and emotions of all segments of our nation come true, from men to women, from youth to the elderly, from employees to retirees,” the president proclaimed.

CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE USA TO RUSSIA

Erdogan’s victory has earned him congratulations from leaders from the United States to Russia to Ukraine, from elements as disparate as the European Union and the Taliban.

US President Joe Biden has conveyed to Erdogan his desire to “work together as NATO allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges”, aware of Ankara’s importance as a member of the Atlantic Alliance in the accession process of Finland, already approved by the Turkish Parliament, and Sweden, right now paralyzed.

One of the first leaders of the European Union to congratulate Erdogan has been the French president, Emmanuel Macron who, on his Twitter account, has applauded Erdogan’s victory and recalled the “enormous challenges” that both countries will face.

Another notable European congratulation was from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “Germany and Türkiye (Turkey) are close partners and allies, our people and our economies are deeply intertwined. Congratulations to President Erdogan: together we want to advance our common agenda with a new impetus”, has made it known on Twitter.

For the European Union, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has expressed her desire to “continue building” the relationship with Turkey, which she characterized as of “strategic importance for the benefit of both peoples”.

Russia and Ukraine have celebrated Erdogan’s victory in unison, instrumental in the important indirect agreement reached between the two countries for the export of Ukrainian grain and Russian fertilizer for humanitarian reasons, of which Turkey is a guarantor country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that Erdogan’s victory “was a natural result of his selfless work as head of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the Turkish people’s support for his efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and bring carry out an independent foreign policy”.

The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, has applauded Erdogan’s victory with a view to “further strengthening the strategic partnership for the benefit of our countries, as well as strengthening cooperation for the security and stability of Europe,” according to a message posted on his Twitter account.

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has also wished Erdogan a “good mandate with a lot of work” for the Turkish people, in which he can “count on Brazil’s association in global cooperation for peace, in the fight against poverty and for the development of the world”. The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, has celebrated the triumph of Erdogan, his “brother and friend”.

Even the Taliban, through the convalescing prime minister, Mohamed Hasan Ajund, has congratulated the president on behalf of the Afghan people, and expressed his wish that “friendly relations” with Turkey continue, the DPA agency reports.