The presidential elections in Turkey are expected to continue in the second round, as none of the candidates have been able to secure more than half of votes so far, according to provisional results of Anadolu news agency.
According to results from counting 98.55% of ballots, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has received 49.34% of votes and the candidate from the six opposition parties alliance Kemal Kilicdaroglu has received 45% of votes.
Sinan Ogan – the candidate from nationalists – has received 5.23% of votes.
Erdogan did hope to win in the first round, adding that he does not object to a second round of elections.
“Although the final results are still out, I can say we are in the lead with a clear advantage,” Edogan said, speaking to his supporters from the balcony of his party’s office.
Kilicdaroglu said he is confident about winning in the second round.
“If a second round is announced, we will definitely win. More than 50% of people want change,” he said.
If final results confirm that none of the candidates get more than 50% of votes, the second round of elections between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu will have to be organised on the 28th of May.
At the beginning, Erdogan had an advantage in terms of votes.
After 9% of ballots were counted, it looked like Erdogan had 59% of votes. After 35% of ballots were counted, the number of votes in his favour dropped to 53.
Results first came from northern and eastern parts of Turkey, where Erdogan has many supporters.
The opposition accuses Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, that it’s observers of delaying vote-counting and challenging results in regions, where Kilicdaroglu has the lead.
Based on information from observers Republican People’s Party, Kilicdaroglu claims he has 49% votes and Erdogan has 45%.
Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu invited their representatives to not leave election sites.
88% of citizens with voting rights participated in the first round of elections.
The votes submitted for parliamentary elections on Sunday, the 14th of May, are still being counted.
According to provisional results, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has received 49.3% of votes, and Kilicdaroglu’s alliance has received 35.2%.
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