'How can I have hope?': Voters in Istanbul dejected as Turkish election heads to run-off

Turkey's most critical election in its modern history ended in despondency for many last night as the presidential candidates failed to secure a majority win, sending voters back to the polls in two weeks' time for the country's first ever run-off.

The polarisation dividing Turkey along many fault lines was heightened as Sunday's vote loomed, with the country's ailing economy coming second to identity politics, and the stark contrast between “strongman” and long-time ruler President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his more liberal rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

What has united voters, however, is disappointment that a final result has not been reached, and determination that their pick for president will be victorious on May 28.

In a tea shop near the central Taksim square, Mehmet Ancar, 54, said he was disappointed by both campaigns but will go back to vote for Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Mr Kilicdaroglu.

“The AKP campaigned only on the economy, but an economy can't keep a country alive without justice.

“Kilicdaroglu disappointed me. The CHP didn't run a good campaign, they didn't protect the ballot boxes. I hope he'll win the second round though, because talking about the economy isn't enough.

He added: “Even if Erdogan is re-elected, he won’t be in power for long. There is no economic security, the banks are empty. People won’t accept this when they start dying from hunger.”

Hassan Demir, 22, is Kurdish and works at the same teahouse. He also voted for the opposition, and says his morale is low.

“I'm not hopeful. How can I hope for a beautiful future for Turkey? It's been 20 years of the same thing and people are still voting for [Erdogan],” he said.

“I have no morale, it's zero. But I will go and vote again. I hope Kilicdaroglu will win to free our imprisoned [political leaders] and bring justice to the country to treat all citizens equally.”

Mr Demir says a key issue for him was the opposition's pledge to free Kurdish leaders jailed under Mr Erdogan's government, including Selahattin Demirtas, who has been imprisoned on terrorism charges since 2016.

Mr Demirtas is the co-founder of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Turkey's third-largest political party, which has borne the brunt of a government crackdown following anti-government protests and later a failed coup attempt in 2016. The ruling AKP has since dismissed HDP officials and indicted thousands of party members over social media posts “insulting the president”.

Hussein Petek, 63, voted for President Erdogan and said he is “disappointed” but confident of an AKP victory later this month.

“He's a powerful leader, and that's what we need in Turkey”, he said, echoing other supporters of Mr Erdogan who spoke to The National from his childhood home of Kasimpasa.

“Erdogan builds monuments and large projects for Turkey,” Mr Petek said, adding that Mr Kilicdaroglu would build “sculptures” in comparison.

On the other side of the spectrum, Emit Acka, 38, told The National that he did not go to the polls on Sunday.

“I didn’t vote because I don’t believe we are voting for a winner or a loser. Someone else is deciding. You can’t do anything in this country, people always interfere.

“I don't care what happens in Turkey's future.”

Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.