According to unofficial preliminary results released by the state-run Anadolu agency, with 98.78% of the ballots counted, Erdogan has received 52.10% of the votes, while opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdar has garnered 47.90%.
The voter turnout is reported to be 85.41% based on Anadolu's data. In the initial round of voting on May 14, Erdogan achieved a nearly five-point advantage over Kılıçdaroğlu but fell short of the 50% threshold required for an outright victory.
Furthermore, Erdogan's parliamentary bloc secured a majority of seats in the concurrent parliamentary race held on the same day.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been serving as the President of Turkey since 2014. Born on February 26, 1954, in Istanbul, Erdogan began his political career in the 1970s and 1980s as a member of various Islamist political parties. He became the mayor of Istanbul in 1994 and held that position until 1998 when he was banned from politics and sentenced to prison for inciting religious hatred.
After his release, Erdogan co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001 and led the party to victory in the parliamentary elections of 2002. He served as the Prime Minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014, during which his government implemented various economic and political reforms, earning him popularity and support among certain segments of the population.
In 2014, Erdogan was elected as Turkey's first directly-elected President under a new constitutional framework that expanded the powers of the presidency. Throughout his presidency, Erdogan has faced both domestic and international challenges, including protests, allegations of authoritarianism, and tensions with various countries.
Erdogan's leadership has been marked by his promotion of conservative and nationalist policies, as well as his emphasis on Islamic values and the strengthening of Turkey's role in regional and global affairs. He has pursued an assertive foreign policy, particularly in relation to conflicts in Syria and relations with the European Union. (ILKHA)