Government of Turkey

Turkey's anti-immigrant Victory Party leader endorsed opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu on Wednesday, potentially boosting the challenger as he aims to make up ground and defeat President Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday's runoff election.

Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan is … strong.

The man challenging for the Turkish presidency has accused President Tayyip Erdogan of being a "fabricator" after he cited a doctored video to allege opposition links to an outlawed militant Kurdish group ahead of a runoff election on Sunday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Victory Party leader Sinan Oğan's support for the runoff election did not come over a bargain for a post for the latter, underlining that his government is mulling over establishing a Disaster Ministry as Oğan has promised for his supporters.

The third-placed contender in the Turkish presidential elections formally endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday for the second-round runoff vote to be held on May 28.

The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has neutralized the PKK/KCK's communication chief during an operation in northern Iraq.

Emre Şahin, code-named Rodi, was found to write the programs used by the organization's communication system, including him in the list of "critical targets to be neutralized."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shaking hands with former presidential candidate of the ATA Alliance, Sinan Ogan (L) in Istanbul. 19 May 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/PRESIDENT PRESS OFFICE HANDOUT

"I will support President Erdogan in the second round and I call on our supporters to vote for People's Alliance's candidate Erdogan," Ogan said on Monday.

Sinan Oğan, the presidential candidate of the ATA Alliance who received around 5.2 percent of the votes in the first round, has announced that he will support President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the runoff elections slated for May 28.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has stated that it is irrational to make a promise to send all Syrian refugees back to their homeland as they are needed for the workforce in the relevant sectors of Türkiye.

"If we say that we will send all of them 100 percent, it would not be appropriate. There is a need for employment in some jobs," he said in a televised interview on May 21.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the nation has displayed its will with the votes reflected at the parliament in the May 14 elections, which is in favor of the People's Alliance.

"On May 14, our nation actually declared its will by giving the majority of the parliament seats with 323 deputies to the People's Alliance," Erdoğan tweeted on May 22.