Ogan settles controversy, declares support for Erdogan in second election round

2 weeks agoLast Updated: May 22, 2023

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Sinan Ogan, presidential candidate of Turkey's right-wing nationalist Ata Alliance in the May 14 Turkish presidential elections, arrives at an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey, May 15, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Turkish presidential candidate Sinan Ogan has announced his support for incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round of presidential elections to be held on 28 this month.
“The opposition could not convince us and could not get a majority of parliament,” Ogan said in remarks today.
“After consulting with officials in our party, we decided to support President Erdogan of the Republic,” he added.
As his party seeks to preserve the gains made by the Turkish Republic, he said in context: “There must be a timetable for deporting refugees to their countries and preventing them from entering our territory.”
In the first round of the election, Ogan received 5 percent of the vote, while opponent Kemal Klicdaroglu received 45 percent.
Erdogan received less than 50 percent, which does not guarantee winning a presidential term, which necessitated going for a second round of elections.