Sinan Ogun, who came third in last week’s presidential election in Turkey, backed incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May 28 runoff.
At a news conference in the capital Ankara on the 22nd, Ogun expressed his support for Erdogan, saying that his campaign made the nationalist a “key player” in Turkish politics.
“We believe that our decision is the right one for our country and our nation,” Ogun said, citing Erdogan’s majority in parliament as the reason for his decision.
“It is important that the newly elected president is under the same leadership as the parliament. On the other hand, Klutchdaroglu’s coalition has not been able to achieve enough success against the Awami League, which has been in power for 20 years, nor has it been able to build a capable Let us believe in the prospects for the future.”
He added that the decision to support Erdogan was based on the principle of “uninterrupted fight against terrorism”.
The announcement comes as Turks return to the polls on Sunday to decide whether Erdogan or main opposition leader Kemal Klutchdaroglu will lead the country for the next five years.
In the first round of voting on May 14, Erdogan received 49.52 percent of the vote, just shy of the 50 percent majority needed to secure an outright victory.
The candidate of the six-party opposition coalition, Klutchdaroglu, won 44.88% of the vote. Organ came in third with 5.17 percent of the vote, prompting some analysts to call it a potential “kingmaker” in the runoff.
Türkiye’s rival alliance
The policies and commitments of the ruling Awami League and the opposition National Coalition differ in many key areas (Al Jazeera)
Former academic Sinan Ogun is a candidate for the right-wing ATA coalition led by the Victory Party – known for its anti-immigration stance in Turkey, the world‘s largest refugee-hosting country.
Kelčdaroglu has pledged to roll back most of Erdogan’s sweeping changes to Turkey’s domestic, foreign and economic policies, including reversing an unconventional economic program that many economists say drove the lira down and sent inflation soaring.
Erdogan has said that a vote for him in the runoff is a vote for stability.
After Ogun met with Erdogan in Istanbul on Friday, he expressed support for the Turkish leader. The hour-long meeting did not make any statement.
Seda Demirap, an associate professor at Isik University, told Al Jazeera in Istanbul that it was “expected since yesterday” that Ogun would show support for Erdogan, “when he hinted that he would promote continuity and stability”. It is also a keyword used by Erdogan in the election campaign.
“He justified his decision in his speech today by stating that he believes that both the executive and legislative branches are dominated by the same party, which is a good thing for stability.”
“It’s more to be expected as Klutchdaroglu is the most likely to lose in the second round. He’s facing a tough competition.”
The Victory Party will announce its position on the runoff on the 23rd separately.
Analysts said it was uncertain that all of Ogun’s supporters would back Erdogan, adding that some might turn to Klutchdaroglu, while others might choose not to vote in the runoff.