The likelihood of Turkey’s presidential election heading to a runoff is quite high as neither President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor Kemal Kilicdaroglu looked to have secured over 50 percent of the votes to win
With 95.97% of the votes already counted, Erdogan having 49.34%, and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 44.99%, the likelihood of the election to go for the second round is quite high, according to the State-run Anadolu news agency.
President Erdogan has said that he is far ahead of his main opposition candidate Kilicdaroglu in the presidential election, although he is not sure of his victory in the first round. Erdogan, speaking at his party’s headquarters in Ankara, said he was 2.6 million votes ahead of the main opposition candidate.
Meanwhile, addressing his supporters, Kemal Kilicdaroglu has said that if the presidential election goes to a run-off on May 28, he will win.
Apparently, the Turkish president is ahead of his main rivals by a few million votes as per the latest percentage released by the country’s election commission. However, not winning 50 plus one votes will not secure his victory in the first round.
“We believe we will finish this round with over 50% of the votes,” he said. President Erdogan faces the biggest test in his two decades in power as he faces economic challenges multi-folded with the devastating February 6 earthquake which stroke certain parts of the country.
Erdogan’s jubilant supporters took to the streets in Ankara and other cities of Turkey, waving flags and waiting for the final results.
Meanwhile, Kilicdaroglu the main opposition leader welcomed the prospect of a runoff as none of them were able to win over 50 of the votes.
While speaking at his party’s headquarters early Monday, he said “If the nation wants the second round, then it is welcome by us.”
