ISTANBUL, May 22 Turkish presidents from the Ata alliance Sinan Ogan announced his support for Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round of the presidential elections on May 28.
«We held meetings with both candidates, I want to emphasize that the decision was not made as part of any bargaining. People's Alliance (opposition <…> I urge those who voted for me in the first round on May 14 to cast their votes on May 28 for Recep Tayyip Erdogan,» the politician said at a press conference .
In his speech, he called important the deportation of several million illegal migrants from Turkey and the development of a deportation schedule, and also noted the continuation of the fight against all terrorist groups.
Earlier, Ogan had already announced a number of conditions on which his decision to support one or another candidate in the second round would depend, among them — not to allow deputies from the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) into parliament. According to Ogan, this party is a political wing of the banned in Turkey and recognized as a terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party. In the current presidential elections, the HDP refused to nominate its candidate and supported Kılıçdaroğlu.
On Monday, the Zafer party, which is part of the Ata alliance, announced that the alliance had effectively ceased to exist after the elections, each of its parties is now representing this person. In particular, Umit Ozdag, the leader of the Zafer Party, is expected to make a statement on Tuesday about which of the presidential candidates he urges to support in the second round.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won 49.52 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election , his opponent from seven opposition parties Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu — 44.88. Ogan was supported by 2,796,613 voters (5.28 percent). At the same time, more than one million 20 thousand votes were declared invalid.
The second round is scheduled for May 28. To win, a candidate needs a simple majority of votes. Voting started on Saturday in foreign missions of Turkey and at border checkpoints.