Sunday’s voting is particularly close Turkey itself. Two running for office, the outgoing president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his opponent, Kemal Klisadaroglu, both say they can win. It may be necessary to wait for the second round on May 28, which is more and more proven. Indeed, on the eve of an election that saw an unprecedented turnout of voters, the outgoing president says he is “clearly ahead” but is ready to “respect” a second round if necessary.
It was not a victory but certainly not a defeat for Erdoğan, who has been the country’s leader for two decades, who in the heart of the night declared himself firmly in front of a wave of supporters that he “still has to serve his country”. Five years. His rival expressed the same confidence as he assured his camp that he would “absolutely win the second round” arguing that “change is needed in society”. The participation rate, close to 90%, is not officially reported.
What if Ogun isn’t the future kingmaker?
This is the first time the 69-year-old head of state has been forced to appear before the electorate for a second term after failing to garner 50% of the vote. Opposing him, social democrat Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old former senior civil servant who led an unprecedented coalition of six opposition parties, continued to lead polls despite a narrow lead. But as of 3:30 a.m. Monday, he fell short of a total of 45% of the vote, according to results that covered 95% of the vote, according to the official Anadolu Agency.
A third candidate, Chinon Ogan, has 5% of the vote to the displeasure of the nationalist MHP, with whom he is preparing to negotiate. Meanwhile, in the evening, the two main candidates’ camps engaged in a battle of statistics, commanding their respective audiences to stay at the counting platforms “until the end”.
The 64 million voters had to elect all 600 representatives who could sit in the one-house parliament in Ankara. Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded “half” for his camp.