‘Vote boom’: Erdoğan enjoys surge in 12 provinces in Turkish vote
People cast their ballots at a polling station, in Konya, central Türkiye, May 14, 2023. (İHA Photo)


President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s oft-repeated calls for his supporters for "vote boom" in election rallies found a response in 12 provinces across Türkiye.

In Erzurum, one of the largest provinces in eastern Türkiye with a traditionally conservative electorate, Erdoğan secured more than 68% of the vote in presidential elections according to unofficial results. In Bayburt, one of the smallest provinces in the Black Sea region, Erdoğan garnered more than 78% of the vote. Also in Gümüşhane, another small Black Sea province, Erdoğan won more than 74% of the vote.

In the president’s ancestral hometown Rize, he secured more than 72% of the vote.

Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the Feb. 6 earthquakes that wreaked havoc in the province and its neighbors, favored Erdoğan in the vote. The incumbent president won more than 71% of the vote. Similarly, Malatya, another earthquake-hit province, helped Erdoğan to secure more than 69% of the vote.

Sivas in the Anatolian heartland was overwhelming in support of Erdoğan in the presidential vote. Erdoğan won nearly 70% of the vote there. Yozgat, another province in central Türkiye, backed Erdoğan as well, as he won more than 72% of the vote there.

Indeed, Erdoğan kept riding a wave of popularity in other provinces in central Türkiye where he enjoyed past election successes. In Çankırı, Erdoğan won more than 72% of the vote, similar to Aksaray, a small province where he won more than 71% of the vote. Konya, the hometown of former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu who joined the opposition bloc of Erdoğan’s rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, awarded another election to Erdoğan who won more than 68% of the vote. Elsewhere, Erdoğan garnered more than 68% of the vote in the Black Sea province of Düzce.