Türkiye Goes to Runoff in Presidential Election

The incumbent Türkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won Sunday's presidential and parliamentary elections with 49.35% of the votes. However, as none of the candidates obtained a simple majority, 50% of the votes plus one, a second round will be held on May 28.

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With a 99.76 of ballot boxes counted, candidate Erdogan, from a coalition of parties led by the ruling Justice and Development (AK), had 49.35% of the vote, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) had 44.97%, while nationalist candidate Sinan Ogan was in third place with 5.25%.

The fourth candidate, Memleket party leader Muharrem Ince, announced on Thursday the withdrawal of his candidacy, three days before the election.

Voting for the election of the President and Parliament of Türkiye closed at 17:00 local time across the country.  More than 64.1 million people were eligible to vote, including more than 1.76 million who exercised their right to vote abroad.

With official results, the second round is confirmed for May 28. There is very little left to count, fundamentally voting abroad.

Each voter cast two votes: one for president and one for deputies. Both will have five-year terms. 191,885 ballot boxes were installed for the elections, which had an average turnout of 88.82%. 

Erdogan, who is running for re-election, has ruled Türkiye as president since 2014 and was prime minister for 11 years before becoming head of state. 

Through his official Twitter account, the incumbent president expressed his gratitude to "all my citizens who voted in the name of democracy and participated in the election works." 

"The fact that the May 14 elections were held in the form of a great celebration of democracy with peace and tranquility is an expression of the democratic maturity of our Türkiye," he said.