VOA新闻杂志2023--Erdogan Leads as Turkey Faces Runoff Election

Erdogan Leads as Turkey Faces Runoff Election

Turkey's presidential election will be decided¹ in a runoff, election officials said Monday. The election was held on Sunday.

Current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulled ahead of his main challenger but fell short of a total victory.

The second-round vote will be held on May 28. It will decide whether the country remains² under Erdogan's control or whether it takes a more democratic path promised by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the president's main challenger.

Turks woke on Monday to learn that support for Erdogan fell just below the 50 percent mark in Sunday's election.

Still, 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.

"The winner has undoubtedly⁴ been our country," Erdogan said in a speech to his supporters at the headquarters of his ruling AK Party in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan 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.

Kilicdaroglu is the head of a six-party alliance. He promised to win in the runoff and accused Erdogan's party of interfering⁵ with the vote counting and reporting of results. He called on his supporters to be patient.

An extension of Erdogan's rule would upset civil rights activists⁶. They are campaigning for reforms to undo³ the damage they say Erdogan has done to Turkey's democracy.

Thousands of political prisoners and activists could be released if the opposition⁷ wins.

The 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.

Even as it became clear a runoff was likely, Erdogan said Sunday's vote was a victory both for himself and the country.

"That the election results have not been finalized⁸ doesn't change the fact that the nation has chosen us," he said.

Kilicdaroglu 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.

Kilicdaroglu campaigned on a pro-democracy platform. He also promised to repair an economy hurt by high inflation and a weakened currency.

In an effort to win voters affected⁹ by inflation, Erdogan increased wages and pensions and gave government money for electricity and gas bills.

As the results came in, it appeared that Erdogan performed better than expected.

Turkey's conservative voters in the middle of the country largely voted for the ruling party. Kilicdaroglu's party won most of the coastal¹⁰ areas in the west and south. The pro-Kurdish Green Left Party, YSP, won the mostly Kurdish provinces in the southeast.

Results 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.

Words in This Story

challenger— n. a person who engages in a competition

refer — n. to look at or in for information

upper hand — n. the position of having power or being in control in a particular situation

undoubtedly — adv. certain

region — n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

pension — n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works

province — n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

currency — n. the money that a country uses

response — n. something that is said or written as a reply to something

upset — adj. angry or unhappy

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

4 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

5 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。