Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have taken to the streets to celebrate the Turkish leader’s lead in the preliminary vote count of Sunday’s presidential runoff.
But the gap between Erdogan and his rival Kemal Kilicdaraglou is narrow, despite Erdogan having won the endorsement of the race’s third-place candidate Sinan Ogan, analysts say.
“This is not a crushing defeat for those who wanted change,” Turkey expert Asli Aydintasbas told CNN’s Becky Anderson. “We are once again looking at a divided country … both camps want entirely different things for Turkey.”
Erdogan has presided over high inflation and a cost of living crisis, a situation blamed largely on the president’s unorthodox economic policies. His opponents say his control over state resources and affiliation with the country’s media helped sway the vote in his favor.
Mehmet Karli, adviser to Kilicdaroglu, called Erdogan’s apparent election win a “pyrrhic victory” accusing the president of fueling tensions during the election.
“It does appear that President Erdogan has won these elections. But it would be a mistake to call this a victory. Perhaps a Pyrrhic victory is a better term to describe this situation,” Karli said.
