★ In last Sunday's runoff election, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected president of Turkey.

  According to the Turkish daily Duvar, Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council released the official results of the May 28 presidential runoff in the June 1 issue of the Official Gazette.

  Mr.Erdoğan received 27.8 million votes, corresponding to 52.18 percent.

  Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, the opposition candidate, received 25.5 million votes which is 47.82 percent.

  The turnout was 84.15 percent.

  The New York Times announced Mr. Erdoğan's election with a title saying: "He has vexed Western allies while consolidating power."

  The opposition block is now analyzing the results to find the root cause of the defeat, and the pro-opposition media outlets have numerous discussions, articles, and editorials trying to explain the results.

  Here is a summary of the perceived reasons for the defeat: 

• Hundreds of thousands of refugees received Turkish citizenship and were coaxed into voting for Mr. Erdoğan.
• Ghost voting.
• Multiple voting.
• Lack of opposition observers at some polling stations.
• Vote buying by the Justice and Development Party with promises of financial support.
• 85% of the media and the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation's extensive coverage of Mr. Erdoğan and minimal space or airtime extended to the opposition candidate Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu.
• The dominant Sunni sects opposition to Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu, who is from the minority Alevi sect.
• Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu has no charisma.

★ The supreme electoral Council also released Mr. Erdoğan and his wife's declaration of assets, showing they have TL 1.8 million, approximately $86,000, in four bank accounts , and he owed his brother the equivalent of $257,000 in Turkish liras.

  He has two dwellings, probably condominiums, in Istanbul's Üsküdar district, each valued at $368,000, 20,000-sq.ft. of land in the Black Sea province of Rize, valued at $500.

  There are speculations that Mr. Erdoğan's assets are considerably more, with claims that it runs into billions of dollars, acquired through grafts and bribes.

★ Euronews, in announcing the election results, wrote that all eyes were now on the announcement of the new cabinet. It added that the lineup should indicate whether Turkey will continue with Erdoğan's unorthodox economic policies or return to more conventional ones.

  Dozens of foreign dignitaries are traveling to attend the ceremony, among them NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and high-profile former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, Euronews adds. Observers expect them to press Erdoğan to lift his country's block on Sweden's NATO accession, which requires unanimous approval by all the organization's members.

  Mr. Erdoğan's administration accuses Sweden of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that the Turkish government considers terrorist.

★ Jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş has announced that he has quit active politics and apologized "for not being able to put forth politics that are deserving of our people." A source close to Demirtaş said that the politician's decision was affected by the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party ignoring his suggestions.

  Also, on May 30, Demirtaş slammed Erdoğan for targeting him during the victory speech on presidential election night and the crowd for chanting slogans of "Death penalty for Selo. Hang him." "I will say, you can't even hang my jacket, but you are not even worth it," Demirtaş tweeted.

★ On May 31, the Istanbul police intervened with tear gas against a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Gezi Park protests organized by the Communist Party of Turkey on Istanbul's İstiklal Avenue, detaining 37 party members, the daily Duvar reports.

  Communist Party members hung the banner reading "Do not obey," which they displayed ten years ago on the façade of Atatürk Cultural Center in Taksim Square, this time at Demirören Shopping Mall on the İstiklal Avenue.

  The party members chanted slogans such as "Everywhere Taksim, everywhere resistance" and "Do not obey, reclaim your country."

  The daily Duvar added that prominent civil society figures such as Osman Kavala and Mücella Yapıcı remain arrested for "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey" and "financing the Gezi Park protests."

★ Main opposition Republican People's Party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will have his immunity lifted with the start of the new parliamentary term, as he is no longer a lawmaker. If prosecutors approve one of the forty criminal complaints filed against Kılıçdaroğlu, he will appear before the court.

  Sixteen of the charges claim that he "insulted, threatened, and slandered the President," according to Deutsche Welle's Turkish service.

★ On May 30, conservative New York Times opinion columnist Bret Stephens wrote an article on the Turkish elections titled "Turkey's election is a warning about Trump."

  He said that observers note that Mr. Erdoğan has spent 20 years tilting every conceivable scale in his favor.

  Erdoğan has used regulatory means and abused the criminal justice system to control the news media. He has exercised his presidential power to deliver subsidies, tax cuts, cheap loans, and other handouts to favored constituencies. On specious grounds of links to terrorist groups, he has sought to criminalize an opposition party. In December, a Turkish court effectively barred Erdoğan's most serious prospective rival, Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of Istanbul, from politics by sentencing him to prison on charges of insulting public officials.

  Bret Stephens added: " [Opposition bloc candidate] Kılıçdaroğlu was widely seen as a colorless and inept politician, promising a return to a status quo ante that many Turks remember, with no fondness, as a time of regular economic crises and a kind of repressive secularism.

  With the economy down the drain and the earthquakes taking thousands of lives due to bad government policies on construction, Mr. Erdoğan should have paid the political price and lost in the elections, Stephens commented. Instead, he survived, and even in the worst earthquake-affected areas, he received considerably more votes than his opponent.

  Bret Stephens attributed Mr. Erdoğan's popularity with the voters to "a sense of belonging, of being heard and seen, of being a thorn in the side to those who sense the spies despise you and whom you despised in turn."

  The full article is >> here <<

★ While Turkish citizens face difficulties in obtaining European Union visas for traveling Europe, demand for travel abroad is at its peak since the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the daily Duvar. Turkish Tourism agencies have been experiencing a hard time as travelers have difficulty getting an appointment in visa centers, and those who get one do not always get a visa.

  Turks rank as the second-largest applicant block for European Union visas after Russians. They face a rejection rate nearly five times higher than that of Russians subjected to sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

  Among the top five countries that have submitted the highest number of European Union visa applications over the past eight years, Turkey has the unfortunate distinction of having the highest rejection rate, according to online news outlet Ekonomim.

  Due to visa rejections, travel companies canceled nearly 50 tours in 2022 and incurred losses close to €300,000.

  Visa cancellations also affect the plans of artists wanting to travel to Europe. On May 27, renowned Turkish musician Volkan Konak announced on his social media account that Germany rejected his visa application twice, so he had to cancel his concerts there.

★ Tekfen Philharmonic, under the direction of Permanent Conductor and Artistic Director Aziz Shokhakimov, runs from festival to festival with its concerts in June.

  As part of the festival tour, the orchestra will first appear on stage on June 1 at the 51st Istanbul Music Festival Opening Concert with star pianist Jan Lisiecki.

  On June 4, As part of the 36 International Izmir Festival, Tekfen Philharmonic will meet with music lovers accompanied by violinist Veriko Tchumburidze at the Ephesus Antique Theater Izmir Festival.

  With the establishment of the "O da Tekfen" chamber orchestra, it will open the Ninth AIMA Ayvalık International Music Academy Music Festival on June 8 with its brass instruments quintet.

  Tekfen Philharmonic is part of the cultural arm of Tekfen Holding, an international construction company based in Istanbul, Turkey.

  Speaking of AIMA, its massive class for clarinet and piano courses is about to start. Musicologist and pianist Dr. Filiz Ali led the foundation of AIMA 25 years ago. Prof. Ayşegül Kirmanoğlu will direct the clarinet master classes between August 2 and 8, and Prof. Gökhan Aybulus the piano master classes between August 18-24.

★ ENKA Sanat, which has been carrying out support programs for young artists in different fields, is launching a new support program in its 40th year: Lale Tara Art Scholarship.

  This year, ENKA Sanat is focusing on classical music, and the scholarship will be for the undergraduate and graduate education of talented young artists abroad.

  ENKA Sanat is the cultural arm of ENKA Holding.

  Lale Tara was the wife of Şarık Tara, the ENKA Holding co-founder.

★ Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum is hosting the DYO Painting Awards exhibition.

  The exhibition consists of the award-winning works of the 39th DYO Painting Awards with the theme of "Nature and Human" and others deemed worthy of being exhibited.

  The jury evaluated 1066 works by 704 artists from Iran, Azerbaijan, Germany, Chile, and Bulgaria.

  While the selection committee awarded six works, it is considered 79 works worthy of being in the exhibition.

  The six works that received awards and their artists are:

  In the painting category: 

• "Do Not Take Me from Here" by Atila Ulusal
• "Wheat Field" by Furkan Armutçu
• "Images about Ben" by İrfan Dönmez
• "Earth-City-Building"by Murat Özbakır

  In the "special print" category: 

• "Salt Lake" by Kübra Gürleşen
• "Annihilation" by Şerife Şen Akkaş

  Between February 21 and April 15, paintings were in an exhibition in the Turkish capital Ankara's CerModern.

  Yaşar Education and Culture Foundation, the cultural arm of the DYO Painting Company, organized the awards.

  Durmuş Yaşar, the founder of the DYO company, established the foundation in 1974 in Turkey's Aegean city of Izmir.

  Upon businessman Sakıp Sabancı's will, the Sabancı Foundation restored a traditional building in Turkey's southeastern Mardin city and transformed it into a museum and art gallery.

  See paintings of the previous thirty-eight DYO Awards >> here <<

  The Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum pages are >> here <<.

★ On May 22, World Biological Diversity Day, TEMA Foundation drew attention to the adverse effects of human activities on the diversity of living things in the world.

  Deniz Ataç, Chairman of the Board of TEMA Foundation, said, "It is predicted that 99 percent of the corals that host marine biodiversity will disappear in a warming of 2°C" and listed the steps we need to take to stop the destruction and rebuild biodiversity.

  The theme of World Biological Diversity Day, celebrated by the United Nations on May 22 every year, is "To Action without Compromise: Rebuild Biodiversity."

  TEMA is a Turkish foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, Reforestation, and the Protection of Natural Habitats.

  After the United Nations Environment and Sustainable Development Conference in 1992, Hayrettin Karaca, and Nihat Gökyiğit, two distinguished businessmen of Turkey, decided to have Turkey adopt these concepts, still very new in the world, and to bring an organized way to nature protection, and devoted their lives to the TEMA cause and established the foundation on September 11, 1992.

  Mr. Karaca passed away in 2022 at 97, and Gökyiğit on January 25, 2023, also at 97.

★ Organized by İKSV, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, with the sponsorship of Garanti BBVA, the Istanbul Jazz Festival is getting ready to meet with music lovers starting on July 7.

  Can Kozlu, who has trained many different generations as the founder of a prestigious jazz school in Turkey, will receive the Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award.

  The festival will end on July 19 with a concert dubbed "Three Generations of Istanbul Jazz" at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall.

  Celebrating the music of the city and Istanbul jazz, the concert will bring together successful musicians from different generations, such as İmer Demirer, Can Kozlu, Ali Perret, Selen Gülün Blue Band, and İpek Göztepe Quintet on the same stage.

  Clifford Chance and Çiftçi Law Firm are sponsoring the concert. Selen Gülün will be the music director.

★ The organizers announced the 26th Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival awards. The festival will be from May 31 to June 7 this year.

  Turkish actress Tilbe Saran will receive the honor award.

  Bilge Olgaç Achievement Award will go to three names from different branches of cinema: Actress Asiye Dinçsoy, director-screenwriter Belmin Söylemez, and editor Selda Taskin will receive it.

  Actress Öykü Özyürek will receive the Young Witch Award.

  The Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival is held every year since 1996 in Turkey to highlight and make visible women's work in film and to encourage the new generation of female filmmakers.

★ According to Agence France Press, after the reelection of Mr. Erdoğan, Turks in Germany expect an exodus of creative people from Turkey.

  Life has been difficult for artists in Turkey, a Turkish artist told Agence France Press. Turkish artists will be seeking more artistic freedom abroad.

  Turkish artists and intellectuals living in Germany fear that a whole generation of creative young people will leave Turkey after Erdoğan's historic election win, Agence France Press adds.