{"id":7156,"date":"2023-05-22T18:56:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T17:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=7156"},"modified":"2023-05-22T19:18:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T18:18:19","slug":"ogan-declares-support-for-erdogan-in-turkey-election-run-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/politics\/ogan-declares-support-for-erdogan-in-turkey-election-run-off\/2023\/05\/22\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Ogan declares support for Erdogan in Turkey election run-off"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANKARA<\/span>\u00a0(AP)<\/span> –<\/span> The<\/span> third-ranked<\/span> candidate<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> presidential<\/span> election<\/span>\u00a0formally<\/span> endorsed<\/span> President<\/span> Recep<\/span> Tayyip<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> second<\/span> round<\/span> of<\/span> elections<\/span> on<\/span> May<\/span> 28.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Nationalist<\/span> Party<\/span> presidential<\/span> candidate<\/span> Sinan<\/span> Ogan,<\/span> 55,<\/span> said<\/span> neither<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> nor<\/span> his<\/span> main<\/span> challenger,<\/span> opposition<\/span> leader<\/span> Kemal<\/span> Kirikdaroglu,<\/span> could<\/span> achieve<\/span> the<\/span> majority<\/span> needed<\/span> to<\/span> win<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> round<\/span> of<\/span> voting<\/span> on<\/span> May<\/span> 14.<\/span> As<\/span> a<\/span> result,<\/span> it<\/span> has<\/span> emerged<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> potential<\/span> kingmaker.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“I<\/span> declare<\/span> my<\/span> support<\/span> for<\/span> People’s<\/span> Alliance<\/span> candidate<\/span> Recep<\/span> Tayyip<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> second<\/span> election,”<\/span> he<\/span> said,<\/span> referring<\/span> to<\/span> President<\/span> Erdogan’s<\/span> coalition<\/span> that<\/span> includes<\/span> nationalist<\/span> and<\/span> Islamist<\/span> parties.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“We<\/span> believe<\/span> our<\/span> decision<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> right<\/span> decision<\/span> for<\/span> our<\/span> country<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> nation,”<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Organ<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> former<\/span> academic<\/span> backed<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> far-right<\/span> anti-immigrant<\/span> party,<\/span> Ogan<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> key<\/span> to<\/span> winning<\/span> the<\/span> runoff<\/span> after<\/span> missing<\/span> out<\/span> on<\/span> May<\/span> 14,<\/span> winning<\/span> 5.17%<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> vote. <\/span>The<\/span> ruling<\/span> AK<\/span> party,<\/span> led<\/span> by<\/span> Erdogan,<\/span> and<\/span> its<\/span> nationalist-Islamist<\/span> coalition<\/span> also<\/span> retained<\/span> a<\/span> majority<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> 600-strong<\/span> parliament.<\/span> Analysts<\/span> say<\/span> voters<\/span> are<\/span> likely<\/span> to<\/span> vote<\/span> for<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> to<\/span> avoid<\/span> a<\/span> split<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> government,<\/span> increasing<\/span> his<\/span> chances<\/span> of<\/span> being<\/span> re-elected.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mr<\/span> Organ<\/span> cited<\/span> Mr<\/span> Erdogan’s<\/span> parliamentary<\/span> majority<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> reason<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> decision.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“It’s<\/span> important<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> newly<\/span> elected<\/span> president<\/span> is<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> leadership<\/span> as<\/span> Congress,”<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Organ<\/span> said.<\/span> “On<\/span> the<\/span> other<\/span> hand,<\/span> [Kilikdaroglu’s]<\/span> coalition<\/span> has<\/span> failed<\/span> to<\/span> perform<\/span> well<\/span> against<\/span> the<\/span> People’s<\/span> Alliance,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> in<\/span> power<\/span> for<\/span> 20<\/span> years,<\/span> and<\/span> has<\/span> failed<\/span> to<\/span> establish<\/span> a<\/span> convincing<\/span> vision<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> future.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Erdogan’s<\/span> endorsement<\/span> came<\/span> days<\/span> after<\/span> a<\/span> surprise<\/span> meeting<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> leader<\/span> in<\/span> Istanbul.<\/span> There<\/span> were<\/span> no<\/span> comments<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> approximately<\/span> hour-long<\/span> session.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mr<\/span> Ogan<\/span> said<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> not<\/span> be<\/span> involved<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> horse<\/span> deal<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> leader.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mr.<\/span> Ogan<\/span> had<\/span> drawn<\/span> votes<\/span> from<\/span> people<\/span> who<\/span> opposed<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Erdogan’s<\/span> policies<\/span> but<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> want<\/span> to<\/span> support<\/span> Turkey’s<\/span> center-left,<\/span> pro-secular<\/span> main<\/span> opposition<\/span> leader,<\/span> Kirikda<\/span> Rogl.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Analysts<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> unclear<\/span> whether<\/span> all<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> supporters<\/span> would<\/span> back<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> despite<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Ogan’s<\/span> support.<\/span> Some<\/span> will<\/span> probably<\/span> switch<\/span> to<\/span> Kirikdaroglu,<\/span> but<\/span> others<\/span> will<\/span> choose<\/span> not<\/span> to<\/span> run<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> runoff.<\/span> Umit<\/span> Ozdag,<\/span> leader<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Anti-Immigration<\/span> Victory<\/span> Party,<\/span> who<\/span> backed<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Ogan,<\/span> appears<\/span> to<\/span> have<\/span> distanced<\/span> himself<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> decision<\/span> to<\/span> support<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Erdogan.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Mr<\/span> Sinan<\/span> Ogan’s<\/span> statement<\/span> is<\/span> his<\/span> own<\/span> political<\/span> decision.<\/span> This<\/span> statement<\/span> does<\/span> not<\/span> reflect<\/span> the<\/span> views<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> victorious<\/span> party<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> not<\/span> binding<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> party,”<\/span> Ozdag<\/span> tweeted<\/span> Tuesday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mr.<\/span> Ogan<\/span> told<\/span> Turkish<\/span> media<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> the<\/span> conditions<\/span> under<\/span> which<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> eligible<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> aid.<\/span> These<\/span> included<\/span> a<\/span> tough<\/span> stance<\/span> against<\/span> the<\/span> Kurdistan<\/span> Workers<\/span> Party<\/span> (PKK)<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> schedule<\/span> for<\/span> deporting<\/span> millions<\/span> of<\/span> refugees,<\/span> including<\/span> nearly<\/span> 3.7<\/span> million<\/span> Syrians.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Meanwhile,<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> interview<\/span> with<\/span> CNN<\/span> International<\/span> that<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> not<\/span> yield<\/span> to<\/span> such<\/span> demands.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“I’m<\/span> not<\/span> the<\/span> type<\/span> of<\/span> person<\/span> who<\/span> likes<\/span> to<\/span> negotiate.<\/span> People<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> kingmakers,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> clear<\/span> attempt<\/span> to<\/span> sway<\/span> nationalist<\/span> voters,<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Kilicdaroglu<\/span> stepped<\/span> up<\/span> his<\/span> tone<\/span> last<\/span> week,<\/span> promising<\/span> to<\/span> return<\/span> refugees<\/span> and<\/span> ban<\/span> peace<\/span> talks<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> PKK<\/span> if<\/span> elected.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANKARA\u00a0(AP) – The third-ranked candidate in the Turkish presidential election\u00a0formally endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round of elections on May 28. Nationalist Party presidential candidate Sinan Ogan, 55, said neither Erdogan nor his main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kirikdaroglu, could achieve the majority needed to win the first round of voting on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,2481],"tags":[4916,4917,4921,5300,5301,471,5302,4414,5303,4899,4900,4901,4907,4911,4912,4913,4914,4915],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/turly.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7156"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7163,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7156\/revisions\/7163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}