ANKARA, May 22. /TASS/. The third-place contender in Turkey’s presidential election, Sinan Ogan, has endorsed incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the upcoming runoff vote.
"I endorse the People’s Alliance candidate, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the runoff election. I call on my supporters to back him," Ogan, who gained 5.17% of the vote in the first round of Turkey’s presidential election, said in a statement broadcast on TV.
Ogan noted that his talks with the opposition’s Nation Alliance "weren’t convincing." "We held talks with both candidates, without bargaining and commitment. We made our ‘red lines’ clear. These meetings took place in an atmosphere of mutuality," he said.
Ogan emphasized the need "to reconsider the interest rate policy" to improve the economic situation in the country, and highlighted the need to continue fighting terrorism and implement plans for the return of Syrian refugees to their home country. He also said that it was important for the country’s president and parliament to be part of the same alliance.
Turkey held its general elections on May 14. The incumbent Turkish president received 49.52% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, while the main opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, garnered 44.88%. Sinan Ogan, who ran under the banner of the ATA Alliance, received 5.17%. A given presidential candidate had to receive more than 50% of all votes to win outright in the first round. The People’s Alliance led by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party received 323 seats in the country’s 600-seat parliament.