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Turkey's election - 2nd June 2023

Turkey has recently had its presidential elections. President Recep Tayyip Ergodan, who's been president for two decades, has won the most votes again.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu's secular opposition party lost by four percent to Erdogan's religious AK party. The elections happened at a tough time for the country. The country's experiencing economic problems, damages from a major earthquake and the arrival of refugees. This has divided opinions.

Gursel Ozkok supports Erdogan's party.

Gursel Ozkok: "It went as I expected. I think the person who's beneficial to our country won. I’m very happy. I’m happy because of his beliefs. The rest isn't important. The country comes first."

Some young voters have given up on their future lives in Turkey.

Kerem: "I don’t have hope anymore. I don’t have hope for Turkey. I want to move abroad as soon as possible. I’m an engineering student and it will be better for me elsewhere."

Since 2017, President Erdogan’s made major changes to Turkey’s system of government. He's made the role of president more powerful. Now, the president’s able to make major decisions without the parliament. But people who are against Erdogan would like to elect a prime minister as well. They are afraid that Erdogan will continue to take more power as president.

Kilicdaroglu believes that the elections were unfair. But, Erdogan's satisfied with his victory. He told his supporters that he's focused on national unity.

Some people are being practical. Student Aziz Fatih Gemci hopes things will improve.

Aziz Fatih Gemci: "This is the will of the people. I hope the economy will be better. I hope our purchasing power will increase. This is our main priority."