Irish Examiner view: Victory of  Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey is a cause for concern

Turkish president's government has not covered itself in glory in terms of its treatment of Kurdish people and attacks on the LGBT+ community

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has never been run so close as Sunday's four-point margin of victory — but it has still firmly consolidated his power in Ankara. Picture: Ali Unal/AP

The four-point victory margin of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s presidential election run-off against opposition coalition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu was the result of the most significant challenge to his supremacy in the two decades since he rose to power in Turkey.

Erdogan’s victory gives him another five years in office and, while he has never been run so close in previous elections, his victory will only consolidate his power in Ankara.

However, while there has been some international concern about how certain irregularities benefitted his Justice and Development Party and how he exploited support from media outlets largely run by his allies, it would be wrong to surmise that dirty tricks alone were behind this election result.

The fact is that Erdogan enjoys widespread social support across the country, and those in his constituency include diverse groups such as nationalists, Islamists, and religious conservatives, not to mention a broad swathe of the public who trust him to turn the economy around. Those who opposed him were only united by their desire to see him toppled.

With the country’s goal of EU membership looking increasingly frail, Erdogan will look further afield for vital investment to boost a struggling economy, while he will also look to exploit his unique position as the leader of a Nato country with open links to Moscow.

It would be wrong to simply judge this result as one which consolidates authoritarian rule in Turkey, but there are still many reasons for concern, not least his treatment of the huge Kurdish population and attacks on the LGBT+ community.

This result is not the end of the road for the opposition in Turkey, but it shows they have not learned from past lessons.