Turkey’s Erdogan wins support of third-place rival for May 28 run-off

Sinan Ogan, who won 5.2 per cent of votes in the May 14 ballot, has thrown his support behind Erdogan who secured 49.5 per cent of votes

This could bolster Erdogan’s already comfortable lead and boost his chances of victory in the May 28 run-off, and extend his 20-year rule

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) has won the support of rival Sinan Ogan (left) who was eliminated in the first round of presidential elections, boosting his chances of extending his 20-year rule at Sunday’s runoff. Photo: via AP

Published: 11:37pm, 22 May 2023Updated: 12:04am, 23 May 2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won the support of a nationalist rival eliminated in the first round of presidential elections, boosting his chances of extending his 20-year rule at Sunday’s run-off.

Long-shot third-place candidate Sinan Ogan won 5.2 per cent of votes in the May 14 ballot, giving him just enough weight to play a key role in deciding Turkey’s future.

Erdogan secured 49.5 per cent of votes in the initial round, just shy of the 50 per cent threshold required to secure an outright win, but could benefit from Ogan’s support to extend an already comfortable lead on May 28.

His main challenger, joint opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, won 45 per cent of the vote, respectable but not enough to dislodge the incumbent despite a cost-of-living crisis and criticism over the government’s response to the earthquakes that devastated the southeast earlier this year.

There is no threshold in the second round so whoever gets the most votes wins.

Ogan made his announcement at a press conference on Monday after signalling on Twitter that he would prioritise “stability”.

“It’s important that the parliament and presidency are held by the same political group to maintain stability” Ogan said as he announced his endorsement of Erdogan, whose election alliance won more than half the seats in Turkey’s 600-seat general assembly in the elections.