Many people I know woke up yesterday morning with a knot in their stomachs. ‘Another five years,’ I heard one person mutter. They were referring of course to the victory secured by President Erdogan in Turkey. He won nearly 53 per cent of the votes in an election that many had hoped would see him defeated, especially as his regular ‘Ace’ card, the economy, has been rather rocky these past few years. The result showed his main rival wasn’t even close: Muharrem Ince garnered a little shy of 31 per cent in the poll.
The 64-year-old president thanked the country for putting their faith in him once again. He told crowds from his HQ in the capital Ankara that ‘the winner of this election is each and every individual’ in Turkey. Forty-seven per cent of those who cast their ballots may forcefully disagree with that sentiment. The win means Erdogan will now be able to assume major new powers, endorsed by 51 per cent of voters in 2017.
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