Turkey’s highly contested presidential election looks set to go to a second round after President Erdogan failed to get 50% of the votes cast.
With 97.95% of the votes cast, the state-run Anadolu news agency said Erdogan received 49.34% of the vote, compared to 44.99% for main candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu – meaning neither could claim the lead. automatic win.
Kilicdaroglu welcomed the hope of holding the repeat elections on May 28, and said that his party will win.
“If our nation says the second round, we gladly accept it. We will absolutely win this election. Everyone will see that,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
The leader of Turkey, Erdogan, has faced economic challenges and criticism regarding the effects of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey on February 6.
For the first time, the Turkish opposition has united with one candidate, Kilicdaroglu, representing the electoral coalition of six opposition parties.
On the other hand, if President Erdoğan wins the country’s presidential election, he will be in power for 20 years.
The election will ultimately decide the fate of a key NATO ally and regional power broker at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown much of the world into uncertainty.
