Fahmida Choonara | fchoonara@radioislam.co.za
29 May 2023 | 14:00 CAT
2 min read

Photo Credit: IACSP JournalTurkish 

Before the elections, Western media predicted his challenger would garner the majority; however, he achieved 57.1% in the second round, beating his opponent with a vote count of 47.9%.

Radio Islam International spoke to Professor Seda Demiralp, Associate Professor of Political Science, who provided her perspective on the outcome of the elections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed victory in a run-off after failing to secure more than 50% of votes earlier in May.

Critics never predicted Erdoğan would win again, considering the challenges he faced, from the dire economic state of the country, the response to the devastating earthquakes

Professor Demiralp believes President Erdoğan has proved his resilience; by overcoming the mass protest in 2013, following a significant corruption case in 2014 and the current economic crisis and earthquakes.

Demiralp says that Erdoğan would take on the many challenges immediately, but she didn’t expect to see any changes to his economic policies, nor would he consent to any of the opposition’s demands. Instead, he would continue his mediator role outside Turkey, maintaining good relations with other countries and being a mediator regarding countries at war.

According to Demiralp, President Erdoğan mentioned that this would be his last term as he has no plans to stand for re-election. She added that age was the main factor in his decision.

Listen to the full interview with Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim here