Turkey presidential election heads to runoff as incumbent Erdogan surges
PBS NewsHourMAY 2023
The opposition camp is timidly crying rigged election to try and appease their voters, which have been deceived by unsupported claims that Kılıçdaroğlu — who lost 11 elections in the past — would outright win the presidential race against Erdoğan, as well as to avoid criticism for its foiled unethical campaign. After Erdoğan dominated the first round, it would not be surprising if his votes reached record levels in the runoff.
Even though these irregularities may not have affected the final results, they are part of a broader effort to add fraud to the Turkish vote — directly or indirectly. Over and above Erdoğan's nebulous actions in past elections, his government has changed electoral law in the run-up to this presidential contest to randomly select judges on the electoral board and allow ministers to run for parliament while in office. It's time for democracy to regain control of Turkish politics.