Erdogan confident of victory in runoff election after leading first round

As of 6 a.m. on Monday, Erdoğan had garnered 49% of the vote, while his party, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), also secured a significant number of seats in the parliamentary polls held simultaneously.

Speaking to his supporters past midnight at the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Erdoğan acknowledged that they were awaiting the official results but emphasized their clear lead based on the preliminary unofficial results.

He stated that Turkey, once again, demonstrated its commitment to democratic principles and the freedom of its citizens to make political choices.

Erdoğan expressed confidence that they would ultimately win the election with more than 50% of the votes.

"We believe that we will win the election with more than 50% of the votes," Erdoğan said.

However, neither Erdoğan nor his main rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, secured over 50% of the vote, resulting in a runoff scheduled for May 28.

Following an uneventful voting process that concluded at 5 p.m. local time, a tense night unfolded as ballot boxes were opened.

The opposition bloc, consisting of six parties, repeatedly challenged the vote count, asserting that their candidate, Kılıçdaroğlu, was leading over the incumbent President Erdoğan. They disputed the official results and criticized the announcement made by the state-run news agency, Anadolu Agency (AA).

Erdoğan countered by stating that they had a lead of 2.6 million votes over their nearest competitor, and while they were open to a runoff if the nation decided so, they believed the election would be concluded in the first round. (ILKHA)