ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged from his toughest election test on Monday unscathed and in a strong position to extend his Islamic-rooted rule for another five years in a historic May 28 runoff.
The 69-year-old leader defied pollsters and his country’s worst economic crisis since the 1990s to come within a tenth of a percentage point of winning the presidential election on Sunday.
On a dramatic night that culminated with Erdogan delivering a victory speech from a balcony to exuberant fans, his right-wing party also regained control of parliament through an alliance with ultra-nationalists.
He also triumphed in areas devastated by a devastating February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people — and where frustration with the government’s delayed reaction to Turkiye’s worst calamity in modern times was palpable.
“A staggering win for Erdogan,” emerging markets analyst Timothy Ash wrote in a client note.
“At these times, he has the magical dust.” And he only attracts Turks who are nationalist, socially conservative, and Muslim.”
The biggest opposition party, led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, faced the fact on Monday that they were unable to defeat Erdogan at a time when he was most vulnerable.
“Don’t despair,” Kilicdaroglu advised his supporters. “We will stand up and take this election together.”
Turkiye election officials confirmed that a second round would be held because the remaining uncounted votes would not change the outcome.
Erdogan received 49.5 percent of the vote, while Kilicdaroglu received 44.9 percent.
Sinan Ogan, a former member of a far-right party now associated with the government, received 5.2 percent of the vote.
Official turnout hit an all-time high of 88.9 percent.
According to Council of Europe observers, the election was “marked by an unlevel playing field but still competitive.”
Different opinions prevailed among Turkiye’s more nationalist and conservative quarters.
The right-wing Yeni Safak daily declared under a banner headline, “The People Won!”
Erdogan’s performance, according to the pro-government Sabah tabloid, was a “superb success.”
The morning after Turkiye’s largest post-Ottoman election, Erdogan supporter Hamdi Kurumahmut was overjoyed.
