Turkish CEC head: Voters show high turn out in elections

REGION  28 May 2023 - 13:05

The second round of presidential elections in Türkiye is held throughout the country without incidents, the head of the Supreme Electoral Council (CEC) of the Republic Ahmet Ener said.

"Voting in the second round of Türkiye's presidential election is going on without incidents or any problems. The citizens, just as in the first round, show high interest in the elections. As you know, on May 14, the presidential candidates and 24 other parties participated in the elections. Now we have only two presidential candidates. So we expect to count the results in a shorter time," he told reporters at the polling station in Ankara, TASS reports.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan aims to extend his rule into a third decade in an election on May 28, with the momentum seen in his favour in the runoff vote after a first round showed him ahead of his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, according to Reuters.

Already buoyed by a parliamentary majority won by his Islamist-rooted AK Party and its allies on May 14, Erdogan got another boost on May 22 thanks to the endorsement of a nationalist politician who came third in the first round.

The election will decide not only who leads Türkiye but also how it is governed, where its economy is headed, and the shape of its foreign policy. Kilicdaroglu, who received the endorsement of another far-right leader, is backed by a six-party alliance including his Republican People's Party (CHP).

Modern Türkiye 's longest-serving leader, Erdogan has championed religious piety and low interest rates at home while asserting Turkish influence in the region and loosening the NATO member's ties with the West.

The election takes place three months after earthquakes in southeast Turkey killed more than 50,000 people.

Caliber.Az