Erdogan wins the support of the third candidate in the election

Former Turkish presidential candidate Sinan Ogan of the Ancestor Alliance has urged his voters to vote for incumbent head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports Hurriyet. In the first round, Ogan was supported by 5.2% of the population, which put him in third place.

The Alliance of Ancestors is a far-right coalition. Ogan said that opposition candidate Kemal Kiylicdaroglu “failed to convince” his supporters of his “vision of the future”, while the decision to support Erdogan was based on the principle of “relentless fight against terrorism”.

According to the publication, Ogan demanded that the incumbent president not change a number of articles of the constitution in exchange for support, combat all terrorist organizations and gradually deport Syrian refugees.

Officially, Ogan said at a press conference that the main reason for his decision was the fact that the ruling coalition had won a parliamentary majority in the elections. “In the system of presidential rule, it is essential for stability that the parliament and the president are under the control of the same alliance,” he explained.

The first round of elections took place on May 14. Erdogan won 49.5% of the votes and Kılıçdaroğlu – 44.9%. At the same time, the incumbent lost in such big cities as Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya.

The second round will take place on May 28. Erdogan promised that if he won, he would not run for a third term. He has been the head of state since 2014. On the other hand Kılıçdaroğlu announced his intention to repeal most of the laws that Erdoğan introduced to strengthen presidential power over the last 20 years.