"The man won again"

So what does it turn out? You cannot understand Turkey from social media environments filled with trolls with no real identity, like a Gog and Magog horde; from polls that fill in reality not from the field but from wishes and orders; from the din of the hawkers who drown out every other voice because they are so loud. The Turkey that all these channels describe is one thing, and the Turkey told by the ballot boxes, in which the truest poll results are reflected, is something else entirely.

As of 22:20, the hour at which I sat down to write this piece, 86.41 percent of the ballot boxes have been opened and in the presidential election Erdoğan stands at 50.29 percent. Since a significant portion of the boxes yet to be opened will come from regions where Kılıçdaroğlu leads, this rate was expected to fall somewhat, but however much it falls, the picture has more or less become clear. What is clear about the picture is that, right up to the last minute, it was not clear whether the election would be settled in the first round.

Even if it goes to a second round, as things stand Erdoğan seems to have won this last election, just as he has won every election he has entered during his 21 years of AK Parti leadership. And the candidate opposing him has repeated his experience of losing every election he has entered against Erdoğan. With a vote share a little over 43 percent, he has shown that he is the loser of this election too. Even if the election goes to a second round, the fact remains that this is very far from the victory expectation created by all the perceptions produced so far.

When a vote share parallel to the presidential election is distributed to the parliamentary election, it is also seen that the People's Alliance has won the majority in Parliament. In fact this situation nullifies the predictions we have been hearing for months that "even if he takes the presidency, he will lose the parliamentary majority." Even if the presidential race goes to a second round, the People's Alliance has secured the majority in Parliament, and this will provide a distinct advantage in a possible second round. By the hour you read these lines, of course, this will have ceased to be a mere possibility.

The picture so far holds no surprise at all for those who follow Turkey more genuinely, in the field. But it is of course a great surprise for those who follow this country through social media or certain media circles. Those who trusted the polling firms that, especially recently, have placed at the service of the CHP, as propaganda material, the "credibility" they had accumulated over the years with endless effort and high-level intellectual analytical performance, cannot help but be shocked. We know that these firms did not hesitate to report, even to their Western clients, that Kılıçdaroğlu would finish the job in the first round with a margin of at least 7 to 8 points. Probably relying on the reports given by these firms, Western media outlets such as The Economist, L'Point, L'Express, Der Spiegel and The Independent, setting aside all the principles and conventions of journalism, showed the tastelessness of appearing before their readers like a CHP propaganda brochure.

In these publications, they ignored even the fact that Erdoğan, who was portrayed by the CHP and all its alliances in this process as a "dictator," was in an election process. Erdoğan, who has come to office through elections for 21 years, has not stayed in power by non-electoral means for a single day. Had he been a dictator, we probably would not still be experiencing such great uncertainty in the election results at the very hour we are writing this today.

Yet, as in all elections, he worked harder in this election than everyone else. With a superhuman performance he toured the whole country inch by inch, explained himself, his concerns and his vision to the people, and asked for their votes. Meanwhile his rivals were subjected to all kinds of intrigue, all kinds of threats and blackmail even to unite on a single candidate among themselves. The persuasion process and tactics that were employed to make everyone unite on a single candidate are an example to be thrown in the faces of those who call Erdoğan oppressive and a dictator.

Being in power is, under normal conditions, not an advantage but on the contrary a great disadvantage when entering an election. Despite the pandemic Turkey has been exposed to in the last five years, the economic difficulties stemming from the Ukraine-Russia War, the earthquake, and the customary fed-upness some people feel even if nothing else were the case, he managed once again to take 50 percent of the votes. In the previous election he had also broken his own record, one unseen in Turkey's history and very difficult to repeat. To win so many elections in a row is not granted easily to any mortal. This is a sign of the extremely strong bond Erdoğan has established with his nation, and today this bond has repeated itself.

The incredible turnout in the elections is in itself an indicator of how internalized democracy has become in Turkey.

Whatever anyone may say, this turnout is a clear indication of people's deep faith in politics in Turkey. In a place where people believe they can change things through politics, no one can question the quality of democracy. But the quality that people display in this politics is another problem. When the desired result does not come out, throwing mud instead of respecting the winner, calling him a dictator, calling him authoritarian, carries no meaning other than being a spoilsport.

In short, it was a fine election. Turkey's democracy won. And Erdoğan won again.

Congratulations, and may it bring good things.