Could the results of the Turkish elections come as a surprise?

Baku/12.05.23/Turan: Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Turkey on May 14. The number of candidates who will take part in the presidential elections has reduced to three. These are the candidate of the Republican Union, chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, the current head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan; the candidate of the National Union, chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party Kemal Kilijdaroglu; and the candidate of the Union of Fathers Sinan Ohan. The Justice and Development Party, the Nationalist Movement Party, the Great Unity Party, the New Prosperity Party, the Free Cause Party, and the Democratic Left Party have merged into the "Republican Union". The People's Party of the Republic, the "Good" Party, the "Happiness" Party, the Party of the Future, the Democratic Party and the Party of Democracy and Development (DEVA) are represented in the "Union of the Nation". The Union "Father" includes the parties "Victory", "Justice", "My country" and the Union of Turkey. Muharram Inje, nominated for the post of president by the Fatherland party, recently withdrew his candidacy. Will the Turkish voter surprise his country this time? What consequences can these elections have for Turkey and the region?

Political commentator Khaleddin Ibrahimli, who lives in Turkey, tells about this in the "Difficult Question" program.

According to him, the pre-election situation in Turkey is extremely tense and predicting its results is a thankless task. And since the main favorites of the presidential race, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, are going, as they say, "neck and neck," many observers have predicted so far, the possibility of a second round.

"However, after Muharram Inje withdrew his candidacy, the probability of a second round decreased, but did not disappear. It still persists," he said. Referring to the "black PR-a" (distribution of photos of a sexual nature), which became one of the reasons for Muharram Inje's withdrawal of his candidacy, Ibrahimli said that this angered the Turkish public, which does not perceive such methods of struggle.

"Such actions are not typical for Turkey, Turkish society is intolerant of immoral manifestations, but it is even more sensitive to injustice and is always on the side of those who have been subjected to it," he stressed.

Khaleddin Ibrahimli did not rule out that the stuffing of "compromising material" aimed at discrediting Muharram Inje could have been carried out by some third force.

"Who is the customer of the "black PR-a"" remains a mystery, but FETO has already been declared a scapegoat (the terrorist organization of Fethullah supporters (FETO) began to operate in Turkey in an organized manner since the second half of the 1960s. The leader of the organization Fethullah Gulen – Ed.). However, Russians are also suspected. But the fact that this is not the "machinations of the opponent" is obvious," Ibrahimli is sure.

He called fake  the photos of a sexual nature and complained that he had been slandered and harassed for a month and a half, and the Turkish authorities had failed to protect his reputation.