Muharrem Ince, the opposition’s main challenger to the Incumbent Turkish President Recap Tayyip Erdogan has conceded defeat in the elections, and has vowed to continue his fight against what he called a one man rule in the country.
Mr. Ince, who came in second with 30.64% of the votes said:
“We will live the consequences of having one-man rule in the legislature, judiciary and government. I will keep up the fight as someone who got the approval of one person among every three in Turkey.”
Ince also said while he believed there were some discrepancies with the votes as some were “stolen”, he believed the overall result of the election was not in question.
Turkey’s supreme election board had earlier confirmed the results with the incumbent winning with an outright majority with 52.6% of the votes while Ince came second with 30.64% of the votes.
Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for 16 years will be sworn in for another fives years, possibly taking his years in power to 21. The president also has sweeping powers with few checks after it was approved in a referendum last year. He now has power to appoint Judges, pass decrees and handpick vice-presidents.
Mr. Ince campaigned to stop the totalitarian regime of the incumbent and return the country to parliamentary politics instead of the Presidential one in place under Erdogan. He also promised to stop prosecutions of Journalists and crushing of dissent.
In the end, it was not enough to displace Erdogan, but many still see it as a move in the right path for the opposition who have struggled in the past to put up a charismatic leader who could give Erdogan a run for his money.
He also used his speech to deny reports he was forced to concede after rumours of such were circulating around social media.