Turkish elections: Syrians rejoice as Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins presidential run-off

Mr Erdogan has taken a less hardline stance than rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu against Syrian refugees in Turkey

The Boynuyogun refugee camp in Hatay, Turkey which houses round 8,500 of an estimated nearly five million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Getty

Syrians in Turkey have welcomed the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey's president for another five years, after he won a run-off election over a rival who threatened to send refugees back to their country.

Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who was seeking to end Mr Erdogan's two decades as Turkey's leader, had made returning the nearly four million people who fled Syria's civil war a key part of his campaign.

In contrast, Mr Erdogan, who supported opposition groups in the early years of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, projected himself as a protector of refugees.

Reacting run-off election victory on Sunday, Salem Al Meslet, head of the National Coalition of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, offered his “sincerest congratulations” and hoped the Turkish president would continue to “support the Syrian people's aspirations for freedom”.

“Erdogan is certainly eyeing a deal for returning some of the refugees … but he does not have an anti-immigration policy,” Serhat Suha Cubukcuoglu, senior researcher at the TRENDS Research and Advisory think tank in Abu Dhabi, told The National.

“Some of the Syrians who have remained in Turkey and not moved on to Europe or elsewhere, are working in lower paid, unsecured jobs or ones that Turks would do for a higher salary.

“So companies and manufacturers may favour Syrians because they provide cheap labour force.

“Erdogan doesn't want to disturb that dynamic because his voter base relies on affluent people in Anatolia who own businesses and don't want to let people go.”

There has been increasing anti-Syrian sentiment in Turkey amid an economic crisis, with many Turks blaming Syrians for inflation and a higher cost of living.

Far-right Victory Party leader Umit Ozdag, who backed Mr Kilicdaroglu, said expelling migrants would lift “the burden” on Turkey's economy adding that their removal would make Turkey's streets “safe again”.

Such sentiments, along with moves by Turkey to restore relations with Mr Al Assad's government in recent months, have made Syrian refugees concerned about their future in the country.

“As we know most Syrians who fled to Turkey are opposed to the Syrian government.

“They may be wanted by the security forces there or at least not want to return to Syria.

“Erdogan's Justice and Development party provides a moral support, more than anything, for those Syrians seeking a better life in Turkey,” said Hasan Mukhtar, a Syrian activist living in the country.

“Additionally, the opposition's campaign relied on racism and xenophobia to win.

“Many Syrians are now more relaxed knowing that they, who encourage people to act on those sentiments, have lost the presidency,” he told The National.

In rebel-held north-west Syria, which remains out Assad government control, Syria Civil Defence group member Ahmad Alyousef tweeted a photo of Erdogan supporters and a message of “heartfelt congratulations to the success of the people's will”.

“As Syrians, we look forward to the day that this true electoral experience will take place in Syria after it is free from oppression by Al Assad's gang,” he wrote.