Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Erdogan wins endorsement for Turkish election runoff from third-place candidate Ogan

Share
ANKARA, Turkiye -

The third-placed contender in the Turkish presidential elections on Monday formally endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the second-round runoff vote to be held on May 28th.

The nationalist presidential candidate Sinan Ogan, 55, has emerged as a potential kingmaker after neither Erdogan nor his main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, secured the majority needed for a first-round victory on May 14th.

Ogan, a former academic who was backed by a far-right anti-migrant party, won 5.17 per cent in the May 14 vote and could hold the key to victory in the runoff now that he's out of the race.

His endorsement of Erdogan came days after he held a surprise meeting with the Turkish leader in Istanbul on Friday. No statement was made following the one-hour meeting.

Ogan had attracted votes from people who disapproved of Erdogan's policies but didn't want support Kilicdaroglu, who leads Turkiye's center-left, pro-secular main opposition party.

Analysts say that despite Ogan's endorsement, it is not certain that all of his supporters would go to Erdogan. Some were likely to shift to Kilicdaroglu while others might chose not to vote in the runoff race. Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that the anti-migrant party that had backed Ogan hasn't yet announced which of the two contenders it would endorse.

Erdogan received 49.5 per cent of the votes in the first round - just short of the majority needed for an outright victory - compared to Kilicdaroglu's 44.9 per cent.

Erdogan's ruling AK party and its nationalist and Islamist allies also retained a majority in the 600-seat parliament. That increases Erdogan's chances of re-election because voters are likely to vote for him to avoid a splintered government, analysts say.

Ogan listed the conditions to earn his endorsement while speaking to Turkish media last week. Among them were taking a tough stance against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and a timeline for the expulsion of millions of refugees, including nearly 3.7 million Syrians.

Erdogan, meanwhile, told CNN International in an interview that he would not bend to such demands.

"I'm not a person who likes to negotiate in such a manner. It will be the people who are the kingmakers," he said.

In an apparent attempt to sway nationalists voters, Kilicdaroglu hardened his tone last week, vowing to send back refugees and ruling out any peace negotiations with the PKK if he were elected.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

Toronto police say they are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot and killed his brother in an argument at a Scarborough housing complex late Saturday night.

Ontario's police watchdog has decided there are no grounds to believe Sudbury police committed a crime during a difficult arrest in May where the suspect's neck was broken.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.