Topline
Turkey’s presidential election remained tightly poised early on Monday and is likely heading toward a runoff, with neither candidate managing to secure an outright majority, in what appears to be the most serious challenge to the incumbent leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade grip on power.
Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate at the AK Party headquarters in … [+]
Key Facts
With nearly 99% of the ballots counted, Erdogan is ahead, having received 49.35% of the vote, followed at 45% by his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, according to multiple Turkish news outlets.
A runoff election between the two top candidates on May 28 appears increasingly likely, as neither candidate looks poised to secure an absolute majority of more than 50%.
In the parliamentary elections, which also took place on Sunday, the coalition led by Erdogan’s AK Party looks set for a comfortable majority.
Appearing before his supporters early on Monday, Erdogan said he was confident that he could still win the presidential race outright, but if “our nation has chosen for a second round, that is also welcome,” according to the Associated Press.
Kilicdaroglu—who campaigned on the promise of battling the country’s severe inflation and reversing some of Erdogan’s authoritarian moves—told his supporters “we will absolutely win the second round … and bring democracy.”
Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board will make the final count public after all votes have been counted.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/05/15/turkish-election-likely-heading-towards-runoff-as-erdogan-fails-to-win-majority-heres-all-you-need-to-know/