Türkiye’s Erdogan Wins 5th Term as President, Extending Rule into 3rd Decade

Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hold a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye May 15, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hold a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye May 15, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
TT
20

Türkiye’s Erdogan Wins 5th Term as President, Extending Rule into 3rd Decade

Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hold a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye May 15, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hold a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye May 15, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade in a country reeling from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities.

With nearly 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

In his first comments since the polls closed, Erdogan spoke to supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul.

"I thank each member of our nation for entrusting me with the responsibility to govern this country once again for the upcoming five years," he said.

He ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying "bye bye bye, Kemal," as supporters booed.

"The only winner today is Türkiye," Erdogan said. He promised to work hard for Türkiye’s second century. The country marks its centennial this year.

"No one can look down on our nation," he said.

Supporters of the divisive populist were celebrating even before the final results arrived, waving Turkish or ruling party flags, and honking car horns, chanting his name and "in the name of God, God is great."

With a third term, Erdogan will have an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond Ankara. Türkiye stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.

Erdogan’s government vetoed Sweden’s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Türkiye from a US-led fighter-jet project. But it also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis.

Erdogan, who has been at Türkiye’s helm for 20 years, came just short of victory in the first round of elections on May 14. It was the first time he failed to win an election outright, but he made up for it Sunday.

His performance came despite crippling inflation and the effects of a devastating earthquake three months ago.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Erdogan via Twitter for an "unquestionable election victory," and Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani wished the Turkish president success in a tweet. Other congratulations poured in from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, Serbia and Uzbekistan.

The two candidates offered sharply different visions of the country's future, and its recent past.

Critics blame Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies for skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis. Many also faulted his government for a slow response to the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Türkiye.

In the mainly Kurdish-populated province of Diyarbakir — one of 11 regions that was hit by the Feb. 6 earthquake — 60-year-old retiree Mustafa Yesil said he voted for "change."

"I'm not happy at all with the way this country is going. Let me be clear, if this current administration continues, I don’t see good things for the future," he said. "I see that it will end badly — this administration has to change."

Mehmet Yurttas, an Erdogan supporter, disagreed.

"I believe that our homeland is at the peak, in a very good condition," the 57-year-old shop owner said. "Our country’s trajectory is very good and it will continue being good."

Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam’s profile in Türkiye, which was founded on secular principles, and for raising the country’s influence in world politics.

Erdogan, 69, could remain in power until 2028. A devout Muslim, he heads the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP. Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Türkiye’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014, and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency.

The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to begin talks to join the European Union, and economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his own hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Türkiye says was orchestrated by the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.

Erdogan's rival is a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. Kilicdaroglu campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies, and to improve ties with the West.

In a frantic effort to reach out to nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back refugees and ruled out peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected.

The defeat for Kilicdaroglu adds to a long list of electoral losses to Erdogan, and puts pressure on him to step down as party chairman.

Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies retained a majority of seats in parliament following a legislative election that was also held on May 14.

Sunday also marked the 10th anniversary of the start of mass anti-government protests that broke out over plans to uproot trees in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, and became one of the most serious challenges to Erdogan’s government.

Erdogan’s response to the protests, in which eight people were convicted for alleged involvement, was a harbinger of a crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression.

Following the May 14 vote, international observers pointed to the criminalization of dissemination of false information and online censorship as evidence that Erdogan had an "unjustified advantage." They also said that strong turnout showed the resilience of Turkish democracy.

Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with "terrorists" and of supporting what they described as "deviant" rights.



Malta Offers to Repair Gaza Aid Ship in Drone Strike Row

FILE PHOTO: A tug vessel puts a fire on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel Conscience outside Maltese territorial waters in this handout picture provided by Malta Government Department of Information, May 2, 2025. Government of Malta/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A tug vessel puts a fire on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel Conscience outside Maltese territorial waters in this handout picture provided by Malta Government Department of Information, May 2, 2025. Government of Malta/Handout via REUTERS
TT
20

Malta Offers to Repair Gaza Aid Ship in Drone Strike Row

FILE PHOTO: A tug vessel puts a fire on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel Conscience outside Maltese territorial waters in this handout picture provided by Malta Government Department of Information, May 2, 2025. Government of Malta/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A tug vessel puts a fire on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel Conscience outside Maltese territorial waters in this handout picture provided by Malta Government Department of Information, May 2, 2025. Government of Malta/Handout via REUTERS

Malta offered on Sunday to repair an aid ship and send it on its way to Gaza after pro-Palestinian activists said the vessel had been hit by a drone strike.

But Prime Minister Robert Abela said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition must first allow a maritime surveyor on board to inspect the "Conscience" and determine what repairs are needed, AFP reported.

The pro-Palestinian activists had pointed the finger at Israel, which has blockaded the Gaza Strip throughout its military campaign against Hamas, for the attack.

If the ship can be fixed at sea, it will be, but otherwise it will be towed under Maltese control to the Mediterranean island for repairs, paid for by Malta.

"In the last few hours there was insistence that first the boat comes into Maltese waters and then the surveyor is allowed onboard," Abela said.

"Before a vessel -- any vessel -- is allowed to enter Maltese waters then control must be in the hands of Maltese authorities, especially when we are talking about a vessel with no flag, no insurance."

In an online press conference, members of the coalition who had been due to board the Conscience in Malta -- including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg -- said they had agreed to allow the inspection.

"When we received this offer from the Maltese government, we consulted with all of our Flotilla Coalition committee members who are on board," said Brazilian FFC volunteer Thiago Avila.

"And their decision is that this is a good proposition from the Maltese government," he said.

"As long as they can guarantee ... Conscience will not be stopped when it wants to leave on the humanitarian mission to take aid to Gaza."

The activists explained the Conscience has no flag because the government of the Pacific nation of Palau had announced that they were withdrawing their registration on Friday, the day of the alleged strike.

Otherwise, they insisted they had made every effort to comply with international maritime law when embarking on the mission to take aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

According to the Flotilla Coalition, the Conscience was attacked in international waters as it headed for Malta on Friday, causing a fire that disabled the vessel and minor injuries to crew members.

Maltese and Cypriot rescuers responded. No government has confirmed the Conscience was the victim of drones, but Cyprus's rescue agency said it had been informed by the island's foreign ministry of an Israeli strike.

The Israeli military did not provide an immediate response when contacted by AFP.

First reported by CNN, a flight tracking service showed that an Israeli C-130 military cargo plane had been in the area immediately before the incident and had made several low altitude sweeps over the area.

Israel is known for conducting covert operations beyond its borders, including several during the Gaza war that it only acknowledged later.

The activists said the strike appeared to target the boat's generator.