Ahead of Sunday’s second round of Turkey’s presidential election, ultra-nationalist ATA alliance candidate Sinan Ogan, who came third in the first round with five percent of the vote, has endorsed incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In a televised address today, Ogan said that he supports Erdogan in the second round of elections, which will be held on May 28, and he also announced the dissolution of the ATA alliance.
The 54-year-old Ogan is an advocate of Turkish nationalism, among other things, in the campaign he demanded the immediate expulsion of millions of refugees and a tougher stance on “terrorists”, by which he meant mainly Kurdish groups fighting for greater autonomy in the southeast of Turkey.
He also sought to prevent the opposition from discussing constitutional changes that could lead to a reduction in the importance of national identity in the Turkish constitution.
Analysts wonder what impact Ogan’s decision will have on the voters of his alliance. It has only existed for a few months, and most supporters are unhappy with both Erdogan and his 74-year-old rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Kilicdaroglu also joined the fight for nationalist votes, and in his first public appearance after the election, he pledged to “send all refugees home”. He accused Erdogan of failing to “protect the borders and honor” of Turkey. According to the United Nations, about 3.9 million refugees, mostly from Syria, live in Turkey.
Erdogan could win another mandate at the head of the country of 85 million people with just a fraction of Ogan’s votes. In the first round, according to the latest data, he received 49.52 percent of the vote, while the opposition candidate and his main rival, Kilicdaroglu, received 44.88 percent.
Source: Rtvslo
