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Turkey
Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu (left) and Victory Party Leader Umit Ozdag (right) signing a seven-point protocol in Ankara on May 24, 2023. Photo: Victory Party
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey's far-right Victory Party will support Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the presidential election's second run-off, its leader revealed on Wednesday, days after the candidate the party initially endorsed sided with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Victory Party is a far-right ultranationalist party that rose to prominence due to its anti-immigrant rhetoric. It was a part of the Ancestral (ATA) Alliance, which consisted of smaller nationalist parties, in the parliamentary elections on May 14. The alliance presented Sinan Ogan as their candidate in the first round of the presidential election.
“As Victory Party, we decided to support Mr Kilicdaroglu in the second round of the presidential elections,” the party’s leader, Umit Ozdag, said in a joint press conference with Kilicdaroglu in Ankara, citing the presidential candidate’s response to their demands regarding the refugee crisis as the deciding factor in their decision.
Ozdag and Kilicdaroglu shared a signed seven-point agreement with the press, summarizing the points both sides agreed on, which include deporting refugees within a year, fighting against all forms of what they label as “terror”, as well as demands for transparency and preserving articles in the constitution which protect Turkish identity.
Ogan, who was the candidate of Ozdag’s alliance in the first round of elections and won over five percent of the vote, on Monday announced his support for Erdogan. Ozdag quickly distanced himself from the decision, claiming it was Ogan’s “personal political choice”.
Ozdag also said that a delegation from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), headed by Vice President Numan Kurtulmus, visited them hoping for an endorsement for Erdogan, adding that the deportation of refugees drew disagreement, a matter Kilicdaroglu deemed a “necessity”.
Turkey hosts over 3.6 million Syrian refugees who fled a civil war that has torn their country apart for more than 12 years.
After lagging behind Erdogan in the first round of the election, Kilicdaroglu adopted a different rhetoric to appeal to Ogan’s voters. He promised to deport Syrian refugees and accused Erdogan of not protecting the borders, which he labeled the country’s “dignity.”
Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections were held on May 14, in which Erdogan’s People’s Alliance garnered most of the parliamentary seats, however, he came short of winning the presidential race.
Erdogan gained 49.52 percent of the votes, followed by Kilicdaroglu who gained 44.88 percent, prompting the electoral commission to announce a second round run-off on May 28.
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