Nationalist kingmaker endorses Erdogan for 28 May runoff

In this photo released by Turkish Presidency, Turkish President and People's Alliance's presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Sinan Ogan, former presidential candidate from ATA alliance, in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 19, 2023. AP

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has secured the endorsement of an ultra-nationalist whose third-place finish helped force Turkey's first election runoff.

Sinan Ogan's 5.2 percent of the vote in the 14 May general election deprived Erdogan of an outright victory for the first time in his 20-year rule.