Turkey’s main opposition leader won the endorsement of a small nationalist party that could help him close the gap with President Recep Erdogan in Sunday’s runoff election.
(Bloomberg) — Turkey’s main opposition leader won the endorsement of a small nationalist party that could help him close the gap with President Recep Erdogan in Sunday’s runoff election.
Umit Ozdag, an anti-immigration firebrand and leader of the Zafer Party, announced his support for Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Ankara on Wednesday. He had initially backed Sinan Ogan, who was eliminated from the race after receiving 5.2% of the vote in the first round. Ogan on Monday opted to side with Erdogan.
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Both Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu have sought to sway Ogan’s swing voters by reinforcing their nationalist credentials and Tuesday’s split in his grassroots could benefit both candidates. Erdogan secured 49.5% of votes in the initial round, just shy of the 50% threshold required to secure an outright win, giving him the advantage over Kilicdaroglu, who won 45%.
“Kilicdaroglu has made it very clear that the refugees must return to their homeland and that he will pursue this policy,” Ozdag said in a televised presser. “Therefore, Zafer Party decided to support him in the second round of the presidential elections.”
Erdogan is relying on his comfortable lead to extend his record rule into a third decade, a prospect that’s deepened a selloff in Turkish assets as investors bet on a continuation of his unorthodox economic policies. Kilicdaroglu probably needs more support than the Zafer Party, which got 2.2% of votes in the May 14 parliamentary election.
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