Turkey is preparing for the run-off between Kilicdaroglu and Erdogan, while the Electoral Council maintains a state of suspense

Türkiye Get ready for Monday run-off elections, After a dramatic night in which he was the boss Recep Tayyip Erdogan He outdid his secular rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu But he failed to win in the first round.

he Supreme Council for Elections (YSK) reported Monday morning that President Erdoğan won 49.4 percent of the votes in Sunday’s elections, which in principle would lead the country into a second round if the last votes, mostly from abroad, are not counted. Kilicdaroglu, his closest rival, won 44.96 percent of the vote.

the third candidate in the race, Sinan OganHe received 5.2 percent of the vote, while finishing in fourth place Muharram Ines By 0.4 percent, Electoral Council Chairman Ahmet Yener explained to the media on Monday, according to Anadolu Agency.

butResults are not final. At the national level, more than 99 percent of ballot boxes have already been included in the count, Yener explained, although the foreign vote is still around 84 percent, a front Erdogan is holding on to not rule out that it could be. Announce the winner. without the need for a second round on May 28.

However, Erdogan expressed his willingness to meet in a second round if necessary. He told a crowd of supporters who had gathered in the middle of the night Ankara.

“We still don’t know if the elections ended with this first round, but if we take people to the second round, we will respect it,” he said.

He added that his pro-government conservative coalition had won a “majority” in Parliament.

For his part, Kilicdaroglu assumed that there would be a new vote and promised to win the second round. “If our nation says runoff, we will definitely win the runoff,” he told reporters early Monday.

He added that “the desire for change in society is greater than 50%.”

The second round will be unprecedented in that country 85 million people, Which celebrates this year the centenary of the founding of its republic.

Senior opposition figures alleged that the government deliberately slowed counting in areas where Kilicdaroglu enjoyed strong support.

“They are contesting the count that comes out of the polls, in which we have a huge advantage,” said the opposition mayor V.I IstanbulEkrem Imamoglu.

According to the mayor, the opposition’s internal recount showed that Kilicdaroglu received 49% of the vote and Erdogan only 45%.

However, neither case precludes the possibility of a second round in two weeks.

In Türkiye deeply divided after two decades of Erdogan’s rule, the duel was a choice Thirteenth president From the country very close.

Just over 64 million people, who have elected their parliament, are invited to vote. Sunday’s turnout rate was not disclosed, but the country usually does Participation greater than 80%.

In 2018, in the last presidential elections, Erdogan won in the first round by more than 52.5% of the vote. The second round means a setback for him.

A sense of humor and a festive atmosphere prevailed among voters throughout the day, which coincided with Mother’s Day Türkiye.

Erdogan voted in Uskudar, a conservative neighborhood in Istanbul, where he wished “a prosperous future for the country and for Turkish democracy”.

The incumbent president highlighted the “electorate’s enthusiasm”, especially in the areas most affected by the February 6 earthquake, which left at least 50,000 dead.

The opposition candidate, Kilicdaroglu, voted in shortly before Ankara. “We missed democracy,” he declared with a smile.

“You will see spring will return to this country, God willing, and it will remain forever,” he added, referring to one of his slogans.

Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder Türkiye Speaking, he leads a six-party coalition that ranges from the nationalist right to the liberal center-left.

He also had the support of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, the third largest political force in the country.

Erdogan promised to respect the result at the polls watched by hundreds of thousands of election observers on both sides, on whom he had always base his legitimacy.

On this occasion, the president came to vote in a country in economic crisis, where the currency has halved in two years and inflation exceeded 85% in the fall, In addition to the dramatic earthquake in February, which called into question.

His rival is committed to appeasement and promises to restore the rule of law and respect for institutions, which have been affected in the past ten years by Erdogan’s authoritarian drift.

According to opinion polls, his short, calm speeches, in contrast to Erdogan’s, won the majority of 5.2 million young Turks voting for the first time.

For political scientist Ahmet Incel, who is in exile in Paris, “Erdogan’s defeat will show that we can get out of a unified authoritarian regime through the ballot box.”

Türkiye , a NATO member country, It enjoys a privileged location between Europe and the Middle East and is an important diplomatic player.

(With information from Europa Press, EFE and AFP)

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