Turkey presidential election heads to runoff as incumbent Erdogan surges
PBS NewsHourDec 25, 2022
The Facts
On Wednesday, Turkey's main opposition party said it had filed complaints over suspected irregularities over thousands of ballots in Sunday's elections, in which Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan performed better than expected.
Muharrem Erkek, deputy chair of the Republican People's Party (CHP), said the CHP had formally raised objections to over 2,269 ballot boxes for the presidential election while conceding it would not change the overall results.
The Spin
Narrative A
The opposition camp is timidly crying rigged election to try and appease their voters, which have been deceived by unsupported claims that Kılıçdaroğlu — who lost 11 elections in the past — would outright win the presidential race against Erdoğan, as well as to avoid criticism for its foiled unethical campaign. After Erdoğan dominated the first round, it would not be surprising if his votes reached record levels in the runoff.
Narrative B
Even though these irregularities may not have affected the final results, they are part of a broader effort to add fraud to the Turkish vote — directly or indirectly. Over and above Erdoğan's nebulous actions in past elections, his government has changed electoral law in the run-up to this presidential contest to randomly select judges on the electoral board and allow ministers to run for parliament while in office. It's time for democracy to regain control of Turkish politics.