Turkey Election Results: Erdogan Beat Kilicdaroglu by Exploiting Economic, Security Fears

Erdogan Won by Exploiting Fear In the midst of uncertainty, people stick with the devil they know. By Gonul Tol, the founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program. Turkey’s opposition fought the good fight but found itself outgunned in the end. It was not only battling against an autocrat who tilted the battlefield heavily in his favor, but it was also in a fight against other countries’ strongmen, who came to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s aid by transferring billions of dollars to help shore up state coffers drained by preelection handouts. Pro-democracy forces tried to do everything that scholars who study autocracy suggest doing to beat strongmen at the ballot box, from forging a unified front and providing tangible solutions for the country’s pressing problems to running a positive campaign. More:Turkey Election Results: Erdogan Beat Kilicdaroglu by Exploiting Economic, Security Fears