The runoff in Turkey’s presidential election is not really a surprise, a Northeastern expert says, but, for the opposition, the continued high support for the incumbent is.
As inflation surged to 85.5% in 2022 and two-thirds of the population struggled to pay for food, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s popularity significantly dipped in polls on the eve of the election. Yet, he won 49.5% of votes on May 14, surpassing the opposition alliance candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who earned 44.9%.
