Erdogan won and his opponents did not lose

With the end of the presidential elections on Sunday evening, May 28, 2023, Turkish democracy has crossed a new threshold in its history and expressed a high level of democratic maturity. Once again, with a turnout of more than 85%, the Turkish people have shown themselves to be decisive actors in politics with their rare activism and participation in the world.

The votes cast by nearly 55 million citizens were counted in just 3 hours after the polls closed, and the results were submitted to the electronic system in full transparency before the eyes of the world, in the presence of all parties and under the supervision of international monitoring, making it difficult to question their integrity.

Erdogan – whom they call a dictator – did not score enough quorum to win the first round, with a shortage of less than 0.5%, and spent the next two weeks presenting himself to the masses in an attempt to increase his vote through democratic means in the second round of voting.

One of the writers of the American Newsweek described this scene well, when he said that no dictator in the world should do this. Well, dictators don't go into a second round of voting, they don't worry about election results, they don't make you wait for the results, they're predetermined. However, as of yesterday, the whole of Turkey and the whole world were eagerly awaiting the election results and worried that the wind would run beyond the ships' desire, until the last ballot was counted.

In the end, Erdogan won. Or rather, triumph again. He never tasted defeat at the ballot box, and no one survived his competition, even when his opponents gathered at the table of six (or seven or eight) and allied to confront him, he was able to defeat this alliance that united all political, anti-national, international, legal and illegal elements in a "legendary final".

This victory is reminiscent of his success in 2002, when his party, which was never given a chance and was politically banned, managed to leave all parties below the electoral threshold that would allow them to enter parliament, and won a majority not seen in many years. Every election has a different story, a different context, but Erdogan has always been the winner.

An American writer described the scene well, saying that dictators do not enter a second round of voting, do not worry about the results of the elections, and do not make you wait for the results, they are predetermined.

Rejoicing in the Islamic world

In his campaign speeches, Erdogan reiterated that his victory would not be a defeat for others, and this was not just propaganda rhetoric; his victories have always been victories for the whole of Turkey, for the entire Muslim world, and for the oppressed.

To show that what I am saying is not an exaggeration, let me talk about an event that I am living now: as of 19:00, when I sat down to write this article, congratulatory calls from across the Muslim world have not stopped. I was contacted by well-wishers from Yemen, Tunisia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Serbia, Bosnia, Eritrea and Lebanon, all expressing their joy with indescribable affection, thanking God.

For two weeks, groups from these countries have been rallying for Tahajjud prayers every night for Erdogan's success. These people, who feel that their fate is linked to that of Erdogan and Turkey, are now co-writing my article with their phones, where I receive at least two calls during every sentence I write in a fairly decent way.

In his campaign speeches, Erdogan reiterated that his victory would not be a defeat for others, and this was not just propaganda speech, his victories have always been a victory for the whole of Turkey, the entire Muslim world, and the oppressed.

Erdogan is a great leader. In my social studies on leadership in the past, I have concluded that a strong leader is one of the strongest elements of any country's social capital. Turkey has gained a lot by re-electing an experienced and reliable leader like Erdogan, who has been a great success for his country for 21 years. The value that a leadership like Erdogan adds to the country is undoubtedly very important, especially in an environment where the whole world suffers from a serious lack of strong leadership, and the Turkish people appreciated this value well.

Erdogan's opponents did not lose

With Erdogan's victory, all elements of Turkey won, as they always won. We covered this in more detail in our last article. Kurds, Alawites, disadvantaged groups, Roma, the disabled, the poor, the oppressed, and anyone with other political preferences have long benefited from the public services they receive from Erdogan's policies. There's no one who hasn't won that in 21 years, and that's very clear.

Erdogan did not make another kind of promise in this election, regardless of the inability of some to accept him and target him and his supporters with hate speech, he opened his arms to everyone without discrimination, and will continue to open them.

Turkey won the proof of its democracy in front of the whole world, by making this good offer. Between the two rounds of election results, almost every vote reached its owner with "millimeter" accuracy. The participation rates in the two rounds are very similar, and comparing their results does not show a random distribution of votes, but rather very accurate. In other words, it shows how determined and aware voters are of what they want, and how fair the vote counting system is.

For example, there has been a significant shift in voting among Kurds, and this can be clearly seen. In the first round, some felt a serious threat, particularly in rural areas, of the prospect of Kılıçdaroğlu's victory, and when it became clear that he was not as close to winning as he thought, a large percentage of Kurdish voters felt free from this threat and changed their choice in the second round. A number of these voices played a serious role in shaping the outcome in its final form.

Of course, these results will be further analyzed in detail to develop a new vision of Turkey and its political orientation.

In the end, Erdogan won, and Turkey won with all its colors and elements, who participated in the vote and who did not vote, and along with these, all the oppressed in the world won.

Blessed victory for all.