2023-05-14 22:58:51
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Elections in Turkey are heading for the second round, according to news agencies in the country. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the lead in this Sunday’s (14th) count, but his advantage has been narrowing as the count progresses.
With just under 90% of the polls counted, the current president appears with 49.4% of the votes, against 44.3% for the leader of the opposition, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. However, the difference reached 54% to 39% for the president at the beginning of the calculation.
Sinan Ogan and Muharrem Ince had 5.3% and 0.5% respectively in the tally shown by the Hurriyet newspaper.
“We are at the forefront,” said Kilicdaroglu, who is trying to end Erdogan’s nearly 20-year dominance in Turkish politics. Turnout data indicate that 88.44% of the electorate cast their vote in the ballot box for president.
The polling centers were closed at 17:00 (11:00 in Brasilia), and the calculation also shows the pro-Erdogan alliance in advantage in the legislative elections, with 55.3% of the votes. The opposition coalition has 30.9%.
During the vote, Erdogan, who has been in power for 20 years, first as prime minister and then as president, said he hoped the vote would be “beneficial for Turkish democracy”. In addition, he was filmed handing out money to children in his electoral college.
Kilicdaroglu said that “spring” will return to Turkey” and “will last forever”.
#Elections #heading #2nd #Erdogan #Kilicdaroglu