Erdogan Leads as Turkey Faces Runoff Election
2023-05-16
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Turkey's presidential election will be decided in a runoff, election officials said Monday.
2The election was held on Sunday.
3Current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulled ahead of his main challenger but fell short of a total victory.
4The second-round vote will be held on May 28.
5It will decide whether the country remains under Erdogan's control or whether it takes a more democratic path promised by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the president's main challenger.
6Turks woke on Monday to learn that support for Erdogan fell just below the 50 percent mark in Sunday's election.
7Still, pro-government media supported the outcome.
8The Yeni Safak newspaper declared "The people won."
9That refers to Erdogan's People's Alliance, which appeared to have won a majority in parliament.
10Such a result would possibly give Erdogan an upper hand in the presidential runoff.
11"The winner has undoubtedly been our country," Erdogan said in a speech to his supporters at the headquarters of his ruling AK Party in the capital Ankara.
12Erdogan has been in power for 20 years.
13Public opinion studies had suggested that his time in power could be coming to an end.
14Turks have not been happy with their country's cost-of-living crisis.
15The government was criticized for its response to February's deadly earthquake in southern Turkey.
16Critics said the government was too slow to provide help after the 7.8-magnitude quake, which killed more than 50,000 people.
17Kilicdaroglu is the head of a six-party alliance.
18He promised to win in the runoff and accused Erdogan's party of interfering with the vote counting and reporting of results.
19He called on his supporters to be patient.
20An extension of Erdogan's rule would upset civil rights activists.
21They are campaigning for reforms to undo the damage they say Erdogan has done to Turkey's democracy.
22Thousands of political prisoners and activists could be released if the opposition wins.
23The election has been closely watched in Europe, the United States and Russia.
24Erdogan has increased Turkey's regional power, strengthened the country's ties to Russia and worsened relations with the United States.
25Even as it became clear a runoff was likely, Erdogan said Sunday's vote was a victory both for himself and the country.
26"That the election results have not been finalized doesn't change the fact that the nation has chosen us," he said.
27Kilicdaroglu and his party have lost all previous presidential and parliamentary elections since he took leadership in 2010.
28But this time, the party received more votes than in the past.
29Kilicdaroglu campaigned on a pro-democracy platform. He also promised to repair an economy hurt by high inflation and a weakened currency.
30In an effort to win voters affected by inflation, Erdogan increased wages and pensions and gave government money for electricity and gas bills.
31As the results came in, it appeared that Erdogan performed better than expected.
32Turkey's conservative voters in the middle of the country largely voted for the ruling party.
33Kilicdaroglu's party won most of the coastal areas in the west and south.
34The pro-Kurdish Green Left Party, YSP, won the mostly Kurdish provinces in the southeast.
35Results reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency showed Erdogan's party won easily in the country's earthquake-hit region.
36He won 10 out of 11 provinces in the area, which has traditionally supported the president.
37I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Turkey's presidential election will be decided in a runoff, election officials said Monday. The election was held on Sunday. 2Current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulled ahead of his main challenger but fell short of a total victory. 3The second-round vote will be held on May 28. It will decide whether the country remains under Erdogan's control or whether it takes a more democratic path promised by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the president's main challenger. 4Turks woke on Monday to learn that support for Erdogan fell just below the 50 percent mark in Sunday's election. 5Still, pro-government media supported the outcome. The Yeni Safak newspaper declared "The people won." That refers to Erdogan's People's Alliance, which appeared to have won a majority in parliament. Such a result would possibly give Erdogan an upper hand in the presidential runoff. 6"The winner has undoubtedly been our country," Erdogan said in a speech to his supporters at the headquarters of his ruling AK Party in the capital Ankara. 7Erdogan has been in power for 20 years. Public opinion studies had suggested that his time in power could be coming to an end. Turks have not been happy with their country's cost-of-living crisis. The government was criticized for its response to February's deadly earthquake in southern Turkey. Critics said the government was too slow to provide help after the 7.8-magnitude quake, which killed more than 50,000 people. 8Kilicdaroglu is the head of a six-party alliance. He promised to win in the runoff and accused Erdogan's party of interfering with the vote counting and reporting of results. He called on his supporters to be patient. 9An extension of Erdogan's rule would upset civil rights activists. They are campaigning for reforms to undo the damage they say Erdogan has done to Turkey's democracy. 10Thousands of political prisoners and activists could be released if the opposition wins. 11The election has been closely watched in Europe, the United States and Russia. Erdogan has increased Turkey's regional power, strengthened the country's ties to Russia and worsened relations with the United States. 12Even as it became clear a runoff was likely, Erdogan said Sunday's vote was a victory both for himself and the country. 13"That the election results have not been finalized doesn't change the fact that the nation has chosen us," he said. 14Kilicdaroglu and his party have lost all previous presidential and parliamentary elections since he took leadership in 2010. But this time, the party received more votes than in the past. 15Kilicdaroglu campaigned on a pro-democracy platform. He also promised to repair an economy hurt by high inflation and a weakened currency. 16In an effort to win voters affected by inflation, Erdogan increased wages and pensions and gave government money for electricity and gas bills. 17As the results came in, it appeared that Erdogan performed better than expected. 18Turkey's conservative voters in the middle of the country largely voted for the ruling party. Kilicdaroglu's party won most of the coastal areas in the west and south. The pro-Kurdish Green Left Party, YSP, won the mostly Kurdish provinces in the southeast. 19Results reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency showed Erdogan's party won easily in the country's earthquake-hit region. He won 10 out of 11 provinces in the area, which has traditionally supported the president. 20I'm Ashley Thompson. 21Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters and The Associated Press. 22___________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24challenger- n. a person who engages in a competition 25refer - n. to look at or in for information 26upper hand - n. the position of having power or being in control in a particular situation 27undoubtedly - adv. certain 28region - n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way 29pension - n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works 30province - n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into 31currency - n. the money that a country uses 32response - n. something that is said or written as a reply to something 33upset - adj. angry or unhappy