Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection as president of Turkey Saturday, defeating his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu 52% to 48% in a runoff. Erdogan’s victory in the election preserves his 20-year rule as Turkey’s head of government, beginning his third decade in power.
Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) also retained its control in the Turkish Parliament, winning a coalition majority with its partner Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the May 14 elections. Erdogan himself narrowly fell short of a majority in that election, leading to Sunday’s runoff.
Erdogan, who has strong support from the country’s working class and rural areas, has been a populist force in his two-decade tenure leading the country, often appealing to nationalist and economically populist policies and rhetoric to maintain support. In his victory speech to supporters, he made allusions to Monday’s 570th anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), a pivotal date in Turkey’s history.
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