President Erdogan discusses Türkiye's runoff vote with Ogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is holding a meeting with ATA Alliance leader Sinan Ogan in Istanbul ahead of the upcoming runoff elections on May 28, presidential sources said Friday, News.az reports citing Daily Sabah.
The closed-door meeting lasted an hour, sources said.
No official statement has been made about the meeting yet.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chair Binali Yildirim recently said there’s nothing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and third candidate Sinan Ogan couldn’t agree on since their rhetoric is not so wildly different.
Entering the campaign at the last minute, hardline nationalist Ogan, 55, picked up 5.2% of the vote in Sunday’s landmark election that ran into a second round after neither Erdogan nor his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu secured more than 50% of the vote.
Erdogan finished with 49.5%, taking a clear lead over Kilicdaroglu, who lagged at 44.9%.
Ogan, however, running as an independent, has since emerged as a kingmaker and basked in newfound fame over his potential second-round endorsement.
He is believed to have sucked votes away from both Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu, the head of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the joint contender for an opposition bloc of six nationalist and secularist parties.
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