ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday emerged from his toughest election test unbowed and in strong position to extend two decades of his Islamic-rooted rule by another five years in a historic May 28 runoff.
The 69-year-old leader defied pollsters and his country’s most dire economic crisis since the 1990s to come within a fraction of a percentage point of winning Sunday’s presidential ballot.
His right-wing party also retained control of parliament through an alliance with ultra-nationalists on a drama-filled night that concluded with Erdogan delivering a victory speech from a balcony to jubilant supporters.
He even won in regions hit by a calamitous February earthquake that claimed more than 50,000 lives — and where anger at the government’s slow response to Turkiye’s worst disaster of modern times was seething.
“A staggering win for Erdogan,” emerging markets economist Timothy Ash said in a note to clients.
“He has the magic dust at these times. And he just gets Turks — the nationalist, socially conservative and Muslim ones.”
The main opposition party led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu confronted the reality Monday that they were unable to beat Erdogan at one of his most vulnerable moments.
“Don’t despair,” Kilicdaroglu told his supporters. “We will stand up and take this election together.”
Turkiye’s election officials confirmed that there would be a second round because the remaining uncounted votes would not swing the outcome.
Erdogan secured 49.5 percent of the vote and Kilicdaroglu picked up 44.9 percent.
Nationalist candidate Sinan Ogan — a former member of a far-right party now allied with the government — won 5.2 percent.
Official turnout reached a record 88.9 percent.
Observers from the Council of Europe said the election was “marked by an unlevel playing field but still competitive.”
The markets were depressed and Erdogan’s supporters ecstatic.
The lira touched new lows against the dollar and stocks on the Istanbul exchange fell on a realization that the era of Erdogan’s unconventional economics may not be over.
“We think Turkiye is now at very high risk of an increase in macroeconomic instability,” the Capital Economics consultancy said.
The view was different in the more nationalist and conservative corners of Turkiye.
“The people won!” the right-wing Yeni Safak newspaper proclaimed in a banner headline.
The pro-government Sabah daily called Erdogan’s performance a “superb success.”
Erdogan supporter Hamdi Kurumahmut was brimming with confidence the morning after Turkiye’s biggest election of its post-Ottoman era.
“Erdogan is going to win. He is a real leader. The Turkish people trust him. He has a vision for Turkiye,” Kurumahmut said in Istanbul.
“There are things that need to be improved on the economy, education or the refugee policy. But we know he’s the one who can sort all that out,” the 40-year-old tourism sector worker added.
US President Joe Biden is “looking forward to working with whoever” wins Turkiye’s knife-edge election, the White House said Monday as it praised the NATO ally for holding a peaceful vote.
“We congratulate the Turkish people for expressing their desires at the ballot box in a peaceful way,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Some Kilicdaroglu supporters tried to stay positive.
“I don’t want to even think about a scenario in which Erdogan wins,” Emin Serbest said as the last voted were being counted.
“If Kilicdaroglu wins... a beautiful time awaits us,” said the 33-year-old Istanbul municipality worker.
But most analysts feel that Kilicdaroglu and his six-party opposition alliance will have a difficult time halting Erdogan’s momentum over the coming two weeks.
Emre Peker of the Eurasia Group consultancy put the odds of an Erdogan victory at 80 percent.
“The results show that Erdogan and his allies successfully bolstered the incumbent’s support with strong messaging on terrorism, security, and family values — even as the economy continued to top voter concerns,” Peker said in note.
Political risk consultant Anthony Skinner said Sunday’s result underscored the difficulty of trying to gauge public opinion in the strongly polarized nation of 85 million people.
“Many pre-election public opinion poll results did not reflect Erdogan’s resourcefulness and the degree of support he still enjoys in the country,” the veteran Turkiye watcher said.
“It just goes to show how careful one needs to be when looking at public opinion polls prior to elections.”
Turkiye’s resurgent Erdogan heads for historic election runoff
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Turkiye’s resurgent Erdogan heads for historic election runoff
- Incumbent leader defies pollsters to come within a fraction of a percentage point of winning Sunday’s presidential ballot
- Turkiye’s election officials confirm that there would be a second round
Israel’s West Bank land registration is a tool for annexation, NGO says
RAMALLAH: An Israeli rights group has denounced a government decision to launch extensive land registration for parts of the occupied West Bank, saying it could help advance annexation of the Palestinian territory.
“It is a tool for annexation,” said Yonatan Mizrachi of the Settlement Watch project at Israeli nongovernmental organization Peace Now.
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has no comprehensive land registry, with some areas unregistered or residents holding deeds from before the Israeli occupation.
The Israeli security Cabinet on Sunday decided to initiate a land registration process in the West Bank’s Area C, which covers more than 60 percent of the territory and is under full Israeli control.
Though the process would likely take “years” according to Mizrachi, he said that Palestinians in Area C could lose land if Israeli authorities do not accept their claim to it.
This might lead to “a massive land theft,” Peace Now said, adding that the process could result “in the transfer of ownership of the vast majority of Area C to the (Israeli) state.”
“The Palestinians will have no practical way to realize their ownership rights,” the anti-settlement group said.
Some Israeli ministers have advocated the annexation of the West Bank, home to around 3 million Palestinians as well as some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in a settlement, has said that 2025 would be the year Israel extends its sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.
To Mizrachi, the government’s decision was primarily “about ... the places where they want to expand settlements,” including in areas considered state land.
He mentioned remarks by Defense Minister Israel Katz, who praised the move in the official statement announcing it.
Katz said that launching land registration “is a revolutionary decision that brings justice to Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria,” the biblical name that the Israeli government uses to refer to the West Bank.
The process will lead to the “strengthening, establishment and expansion” of settlements, Katz was quoted as saying.
He also said it would block “attempts to seize land” by the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank but not Area C.
Mohammed Abu Al-Rob, director of the Palestinian Authority’s communication center, said that the decision was “a dangerous escalation of Israel’s illegal policies aimed at entrenching its occupation and advancing de facto annexation.”
Area C is “an inseparable part” of the rest of the Palestinian territories, he said.
Abu Al-Rob called on the international community to “reject this unlawful decision and to take immediate, concrete action to thwart its implementation.”
Syria warns Kurds against delay in integrating into state
- Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani emphasizes that ‘our goal is not dominance but unification’
ANKARA: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani has warned that postponing the implementation of an agreement between Syria’s new administration and Kurdish-led forces in the northeast would “prolong the chaos” in the country.
His remarks came as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, announced it was disbanding, an announcement the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which control swaths of north and northeast Syria, have not yet commented on.
The PKK’s move is “a pivotal moment” for regional stability, Al-Shaibani told a news conference in Ankara with his Turkish and Jordanian counterparts.
Syria is “implementing the national accord with the Syrian Democratic Forces and incorporating all areas under central state control,” he said.
In March, Syria’s President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement to integrate the civil and military institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.
The deal, agreed three months after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad, is expected to be implemented by the end of the year.
“This process is complicated and sensitive, but it is necessary,” Al-Shaibani said, adding that “delaying the implementation of this agreement will prolong the chaos, open the door to foreign interference, and fuel separatist tendencies.”
“Our goal is not dominance but unification,” he said.
“We are keen on implementing this agreement, and we hope that the other side is seriously committed to implementing this agreement,” he added.
The SDF, the Kurdish administration’s de facto army, controls most of the oil and gas fields in Syria. The force maintains that it is independent from the PKK, but it is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which Ankara views as a PKK offshoot.
After years of marginalization and repression under the Assad dynasty, the Kurds took advantage of the government forces’ withdrawal during the civil war, which erupted in 2011, to establish a semi-autonomous administration.
With US backing, the SDF played a key role in the fight against Daesh, which was defeated in its last Syrian territorial stronghold in 2019.
Al-Shaibani emphasized that “the unity of Syrian territory is non-negotiable, as Syria is an indivisible, unified state, sovereign over its land and will remain so.”
“The rights of Kurdish citizens will be preserved and guaranteed on an equal footing with the rest of the Syrian people,” he added.
Syria’s Kurds have criticized a temporary constitutional declaration announced in March and said the new government failed to reflect the country’s diversity.
In February, Abdi said an initial call for the PKK to lay down weapons and disband did not concern his forces.
Jordanian and Saudi army chiefs reaffirm military partnership
- Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of efforts to enhance regional security, says Jordanian commander
- His counterpart from the Kingdom reaffirms Riyadh’s commitment to tackling regional threats
LONDON: During talks on Monday, Maj. Gen. Yousef Ahmed Al-Hunaiti, chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces, and his Saudi counterpart, Gen. Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili, discussed military cooperation between their countries.
They considered ways in which cooperation might be enhanced and expertise shared, and addressed the development of strategic defense partnerships and coordinated efforts to tackle regional and international security challenges.
Al-Hunaiti reaffirmed the strong ties between the nations’ armed forces, and said that Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of efforts to enhance regional security, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Al-Ruwaili praised collaborative efforts to strengthen defense and security initiatives, and reaffirmed Riyadh’s commitment to tackling regional threats.
They were joined during their meeting at the Saudi Armed Forces headquarters in Riyadh by several senior officers from both countries.
Trump signals possible sanctions relief for Syria
- Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed Trump’s remarks and said it “considers them an encouraging step toward ending the suffering of the Syrian people”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday he was considering offering sanctions relief to Syria as it seeks to rebuild after a grinding decade-plus civil war.
“We are going to have to make a decision on the sanctions, which we may very well relieve. We may take them off of Syria because we want to give them a fresh start,” Trump told journalists at the White House prior to departing on a trip to the Middle East.
Syria’s authorities, who toppled longtime president Bashar Assad in December, are working to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and economy after almost 14 years of devastating conflict.
The new government has been pushing for Assad-era sanctions to be removed to revive the country’s battered economy and support reconstruction.
Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed Trump’s remarks and said it “considers them an encouraging step toward ending the suffering of the Syrian people.”
The foreign ministry statement said Assad-era sanctions “directly target the Syrian people and hinder the recovery and reconstruction process.”
Syrians “look forward to the full lifting of sanctions as part of steps that support peace and prosperity in Syria and the region, and open the possibility for constructive international cooperation,” the statement added.
Some countries have said they would wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power and ensure human rights are respected before lifting sanctions, opting instead for targeted and temporary exemptions.
A February United Nations Development Programme report estimated that at current growth rates, Syria would need more than 50 years to return to the economic level it had before its devastating civil war, and called for massive investment to accelerate the process.
UN says found 225 arms caches since Israel-Hezbollah truce
- The Lebanese army has been deploying in the south as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there
- Israel’s military still carries out regular strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure
BEIRUT: The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Monday that since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah it had uncovered more than 225 weapons caches in the south and referred them to the army.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem urged Lebanon’s government and the international community to act “more effectively” to make Israel comply with the November truce, which largely ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group, including two months of all-out war.
Under the deal, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River and Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon, however it has kept troops in five areas it deems “strategic.”
The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.
Since the November 27 truce began, “peacekeepers have found over 225 weapons caches and referred them” to the Lebanese army, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said in a statement.
UNIFIL also has a seat on the ceasefire monitoring committee, alongside truce sponsors France and the United States, and the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
“With UNIFIL support,” Lebanon’s army has “redeployed to more than 120 permanent positions south of the Litani,” the peacekeeping force said.
“Full (army) deployment is hindered by the presence of Israeli forces in Lebanese territory,” it added.
Israel’s military still carries out regular strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure.
The ceasefire deal was based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and that calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.
Border positions
Hezbollah’s chief said on Monday that Lebanon and Hezbollah had fulfilled their commitments under the ceasefire, and the army has deployed in south Lebanon, “while Israel has not withdrawn, has not stopped its attacks.”
In a televised speech, Qassem said that “Israel wants to end the resistance,” referring to Hezbollah.
Israel “thinks that continuing its pressure and aggression could lead to the political end of the resistance,” he said, adding: “This will not happen.”
After heavy Israeli strikes in the Nabatiyeh area of south Lebanon last week, Qassem said Israel was “playing with fire.”
He urged the Lebanese state and ceasefire sponsors Paris and Washington to act “more effectively” and to let Israel and its backers “know that we will not submit to threats and pressure.”
He also called for swift efforts toward reconstruction.
President Joseph Aoun said last month the Lebanese army was now deployed in more than 85 percent of the south and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was “Israel’s occupation of five border positions.”
Lebanese authorities have vowed to implement a state monopoly on bearing arms, though Aoun has said disarming Hezbollah is a “delicate” matter that requires dialogue.
Hezbollah, long a dominant force in Lebanon, was heavily weakened in its latest war with Israel.
