The head of Turkey’s Higher Electoral Council (YSK, the national election commission), Ahmet Gener, announced in the early hours of today that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading with 49.49% of the vote, and his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu has 44. .49%, with 91.93% of the ballots having been counted after the presidential elections held in the country yesterday Sunday.
The result – if confirmed as the final – means that a second round will be held on May 28.
The third candidate of the election, Sinon Ogan is credited with about 5% of the vote.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a rousing speech to his supporters in the early hours of this morning, assuring that he is “clearly ahead” after the first round of Turkey’s presidential election yesterday, but appearing to now accept that a second round, the result of which will be “respected”, is indeed necessary.
“Although the [επίσημα] results have not been released yet, we are clearly ahead,” he told the sea of fans in the middle of the night [στις 02:30 τοπική ώρα και ώρα Κύπρου] in Ankara. “We will respect [το αποτέλεσμα] of this vote and the next,” he assured.
Mr Erdogan, 69, said he was 2.6 million votes ahead of his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74.
For his part, the candidate of the opposition National Alliance for the presidency of Turkey, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74 years old, promised his supporters in the early hours of this morning the victory “in the second round” of the presidential elections, stressing that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tayyip Erdoğan could not prevail as he sought in the match yesterday.
Mr. Kilicdaroglu addressed his supporters with several other executives of the six-party alliance of which he is a candidate.
