Polls Close In Turkey’s Tight Presidential Election Race

The New York Times reports:

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was facing the greatest political challenge of his career after millions voted on Sunday in pivotal elections that could reshape the country’s domestic and foreign policies. The presidential and parliamentary elections took place three months after devastating earthquakes killed more than 50,000 people in southern Turkey, and were in many ways a referendum on Mr. Erdogan’s two decades as the country’s dominant politician.

He faced an extremely tight race, largely because of anger at the state of the economy and concerns among many voters that he has pushed the country toward one-man rule. Preliminary presidential results are expected Sunday evening, and parliamentary results on Monday. Mr. Erdogan’s main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, represents a coalition of six opposition parties and has vowed to shore up the economy and restore Turkey’s democracy.

Read the full article.

UPDATE: #Turkey Elections ?️

• Polls just closed
• VERY high turnout
• Results as soon as tonight
• Erdogan & Kilicdaroglu voted, head to HQ. Big day for ?? https://t.co/o7lAKaKwIB

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) May 14, 2023

As #Turkey‘s presidential election polls close, some analysts argue that if President Recep Tayyip #Erdogan lost the election with a small margin, he might resort to the “me or chaos” strategy

Read more:https://t.co/maYDwrbLm9

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) May 14, 2023

Turkish opposition officials say their supporters will take to the streets in “massive protests” if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan follows through on his threat not to concede power if he loses this Sunday’s presidential election.https://t.co/jR4gMqkkJ7

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 12, 2023

In the run-up to today’s crucial election in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ramped up his poisonous invective against the LGBTQ+ community.

His language smacks of a fixation, and an attempt to distract from the ruling party’s failings.https://t.co/Rl9F99Kh8T

— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) May 14, 2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said there is no LGBTQ in his party because “we respect the family.”

He was speaking at an election rally in Giresun where he accused his opposition rivals of supporting the LGBTQ movement. #Turkiye #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/tgGCeyrMMb

— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) May 7, 2023

Turkish opposition is gay – #Erdogan.

“We know that Mr. Kemal is a #LGBT person, CHP is LGBT, IYI party is LGBT, HDP is LGBT,” Erdogan told a rally in the city of #Giresun. pic.twitter.com/ZkfGPrWm7E

— Tarm News (@TarmNews) May 6, 2023