Alwaght- Turkey’s presidential election is heading for a runoff as the incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led over his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday's election but fell short of an outright majority to extend his 20-year rule of the West Asian country.
According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Erdogan has won 49.34 percent of the vote with over 98 percent of the ballots counted, while Kilicdaroglu garnered almost 45 percent in the Sunday election.
Sinan Ogan, the third presidential candidate of the nationalist Ancestral Alliance (ATA), only got 5.23 percent of the total vote.
The overall voter turnout has been reported at over 88 percent.
At first, early results put Erdogan ahead, but as the count continued, his advantage eroded. Now, a runoff on May 28 appears highly likely.
Opinion polls before the election had given Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead, and two polls on Friday even showed him above the 50% threshold. However, most had suggested a tight margin.
Erdogan said on Sunday that hurrying to announce election results while the counting went on would mean stealing people's will. Kilicdaroglu, for his part, warned election authorities to log all nationwide results.
Sunday's vote was one of the most consequential elections in the country's history, as it could end Erdogan's 20-year rule and reverberate well beyond Turkey's borders.
The presidential election poses the biggest challenge to 69-year-old Erdogan, amid an economic downturn and the impact of the devastating February 6 earthquake.
Kilicdaroglu has promised to fix Turkey’s faltering economy and restore democratic institutions compromised under Erdogan’s rule.
Erdogan, on the other hand, has been extolling the virtues of his long rule, campaigning on a platform of stability, independent foreign policy, and continuing to bolster Turkey’s defense industry.
Recently, he raised the wages of government workers by 45 percent and lowered the retirement age. His AK (Justice and Development) Party has been in power since November 2002, and he has ruled Turkey since 2003.
Erdogan, Kilicdaroglu both say accept runoff, will win election
Hours after the voting ended, Erdogan addressed his supporters, saying the current results showed him far ahead of Kilicdaroglu. He, however, stopped short of declaring an outright victory.
The incumbent president said votes from abroad were still being counted and that he was 2.6 million votes ahead of his rival.
Erdogan also noted that he would respect the people's decision if the presidential vote goes to a runoff, adding, however, "we believe that we will win in the first round."
Kilicdaroglu also made a short statement, saying early on Monday that he will accept the people's decision for a second round.
Speaking alongside leaders of the other parties in his alliance, he added that Erdogan had not obtained the result he wanted in Sunday's election.
Kilicdaroglu noted that he will accept a runoff vote and will win it against Erdogan.
