ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The third-placed contender in the Turkish presidential elections formally endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday for the second-round runoff vote to be held on May 28.
The nationalist presidential candidate Sinan Ogan, 55, has emerged as a potential kingmaker after neither Erdogan nor his main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, secured the majority needed for a first-round victory on May 14.
“I declare that we will support Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the candidate of the People’s Alliance, in the second round of the elections,” Ogan said, referring to the Erdogan-led alliance that includes nationalist and Islamist parties.
“We believe that our decision will be the right decision for our country and nation,” Ogan stated.
Ogan, a former academic who was backed by a far-right anti-migrant party, won 5.17% in the May 14 vote and could hold the key to victory in the runoff now that he’s out of the race.
Erdogan received 49.5% of the votes in the first round - just short of the majority needed for an outright victory - compared to Kilicdaroglu’s 44.9%.
Erdogan’s ruling AK party and its nationalist and Islamic allies also retained a majority in the 600-seat parliament. That increases Erdogan’s chances of re-election because voters are likely to vote for him to avoid a splintered government, analysts say.
Ogan cited Erdogan’s parliamentary majority as a reason for his decision.
“It is important that newly elected president is under the same (leadership) as the parliament,” Ogan said. ”(Kilicdaroglu’s) alliance on the other hand, could not display sufficient success against the People’s Alliance which has been in power for 20 years, and could not establish a perspective that could convince us about the future.”
His endorsement of Erdogan came days after he held a surprise