Voters in Turkiye returned to the polls Sunday to decide whether the country’s longtime leader stretches his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade, or is unseated by a challenger who has promised to restore a more democratic society.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been at Turkiye’s helm for 20 years, is favored to win a new five-year term in the second-round runoff, after coming just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14.
The final decision could have implications far beyond Ankara. Turkiye stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO. In the mainly Kurdish-populated province of Diyarbakir — one of 11 regions that was hit by the Feb. 6 earthquake — 60-year-old retiree Mustafa Yesil said he voted for “change.”
The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to begin talks to join the European Union, and economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his own hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Turkiye says was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.
A defeat for Kilicdaroglu would add to a long list of electoral losses to Erdogan, and put pressure on him to step down as party chairman.
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Voters in Turkiye choose between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu in presidential runoffVoters in Turkiye returned to the polls Sunday to decide whether the country's longtime leader stretches his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade, or is unseated by a challenger who has promised to restore a more democratic society.
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As Turkiye heads to runoff presidential race, domestic issues loom largeTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has parlayed his country's NATO membership and location straddling Europe and the Middle East into international influence, is favoured to win re-election in a presidential runoff Sunday, despite a host of domestic issues.
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