Presidential race between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu appears likely to result in a runoff in two weeks’ time
AMN / WEB DESK
A run-off election is likely to take place between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu after neither appeared likely to reach the 50% threshold to win the presidential race outright.
The state-owned Anadolu news agency reported Erdoğan on 49.24% and Kılıçdaroğlu on 45.06% but there have been discrepancies between the data given out by state media and the Supreme Election Council (YSK), which is overseeing the election. Any second round of voting is likely to take place on 28 May.
Speaking in the early hours of Monday, Erdoğan said he believed he had enough votes to win the first round outright but that he would accept a runoff, and accused unnamed others of trying to “deceive the nation” by claiming they were in the lead.
86.99%VOTER TURNOUT55.8M+PARTICIPATIONRECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN49.50%MUHARREM INCE (WITHDRAWN)0.44%KEMAL KILICDAROGLU44.89%SINAN OGAN5.17%RECEP TAYYIPERDOGAN
27.1M+VOTES49.50%MUHARREMINCE
WITHDRAWN238.7k+VOTES0.44%KEMALKILICDAROGLU
24.6M+VOTES44.89%
Kılıçdaroğlu said he would accept a runoff, and would win it, saying: “Despite all of his lies and attacks, Erdoğan did not receive the desired outcome. No one should be enthusiastic about this being a done deal. The election is not won on the balcony,” he said, in an apparent reference to Erdoğan’s speech venue.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed confidence Monday he will prevail while top rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu said he will “absolutely win the second round.”
Erdogan, who has been in power for 20 years and is the country’s longest-serving leader, performed better than had been expected, but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to win in Sunday’s vote.
With more than 99.4% of ballot boxes counted, Erdogan led with 49.4% of votes and Kilicdaroglu had 45%, Ahmet Yener, the head of the Supreme Electoral Board, told reporters.