The statement of outgoing presidential candidate Sinan Ogan to support incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round of elections increases his chances of winning on May 28, when the vote will be held, but does not guarantee it. Nejati Ozkan, Vice President of the International Association of Political Consultants, expressed this opinion to TASS on Tuesday, recalling that most of the votes cast for Ogan in the first round on May 14 were protest votes.
"Ogan's decision, which he announced on Monday, was expected. However, it will not fundamentally change the situation in the runoff election. More than half of the 2.8 million voters who voted for him on May 14 did so in protest [against Erdogan and opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu], so a significant part of them may not vote at all on May 28," the agency's interlocutor said.
In his opinion, the activity of the electorate will be decisive in the second round. "About 8 million people did not vote on May 14, and their activity and choice will determine the outcome of the vote," the expert said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS