Türkiye's presidential election heads to run-off as Erdogan and Kılıçdaroglu vie for victory

Official results from the Supreme Election Council indicate that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured 49.5 percent of the vote, while his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, received 44.89 percent. Since neither candidate obtained more than 50 percent, they will compete in a second round on May 28.

This marks only the third occasion on which Turkish citizens directly voted for a president. In the previous two elections, Erdogan emerged as the outright winner in the first round. Sinan Ogan from the ATA Alliance, the third candidate, garnered 5.17 percent, while Muharrem Ince of the Homeland Party, who withdrew from the race just three days prior to the election but remained on the ballot, received 0.44 percent. Notably, Ogan's vote played a significant role in pushing the election into a run-off.

The outcome of the presidential race will also be influenced by which alliance gains control of parliament, as two weeks can bring significant changes to an election cycle. The preliminary results released by the council indicate that the AK Party won 266 seats, while the main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) secured 166 seats out of the 600-seat parliament.

The chairman of Turkey's supreme election council, Ahmet Yener, stated that the official final results for Turkey's election will be announced on Friday. (ILKHA)