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Kılıçdaroğlu tells supporters not to be discouraged, vows to win in runoff

Kemal Kilicdaroglu

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (C) the 74-year-old leader of the center-left, pro-secular Republican People's Party, or CHP, arrives for a press conference in Ankara on May 15, 2023. Turkey braced on May 15, 2023 for its first election runoff after a night of high drama showed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan edging ahead of his secular rival but failing to secure a first-round win. BULENT KILIC / AFP

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the presidential candidate for the opposition Nation Alliance and leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has called on his supporters not to be discouraged by the outcome of Sunday’s election, promising that he will be successful in the runoff.

Turkey held parliamentary and presidential elections on Sunday. Although most public surveys showed Kılıçdaroğlu running neck-and-neck with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan or defeating him in the first round, Kılıçdaroğlu finished the race lagging behind Erdoğan.

According to preliminary unofficial results, while Kılıçdaroğlu received 44.8 percent of the nationwide vote, the support for Erdoğan stood at 49.5 percent, which requires a runoff since neither of the candidates was able to exceed the 50 percent threshold.

“My dear people, we have been working nonstop since yesterday. Please don’t get discouraged. I will hold my head up high. I will give you my views about what has happened. Then we will stand together and win this election. In the end, only what the nation says will happen,” Kılıçdaroğlu tweeted on Monday.

 

Prominent CHP politician and İstanbul provincial chairperson Canan Kaftancıoğlu was also hopeful for the runoff and sought to encourage supporters not to be disappointed with Kılıçdaroğlu’s failure to lead or win in the first round.

She tweeted that she would do her best with her party’s İstanbul organization to win both the hearts and votes of the people in the second round.

“The people will have the final word. And I believe we will succeed it in the second round,” said Kaftancıoğlu.

As the votes were being counted on Sunday, Kılıçdaroğlu and some CHP officials accused Erdoğan’s party of objecting to the results from certain ballot boxes to block the system.

“There are ballot boxes that have been objected to six times, 11 times,” he said, adding: “You are blocking the will of Turkey.”

Kılıçdaroğlu said: “You can’t prevent what happens through objections. We won’t allow a fait accompli.”

He urged Erdoğan to stop his “perception management” and the national election board to act responsibly.

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