Turkish electoral chief confirms election runoff 

The President of the Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) has confirmed that the Turkish presidential election will be decided by a runoff between incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. 

The writing was on the wall as both candidates failed to secure an outright win in the preliminary count. With just 35,000 votes left to be counted, the May 28 poll will be the ultimate decider. 

Earlier, both the candidates had accepted the prospect of a second round with Erdoğan particularly confident about a win following a win in the parliamentary votes. 

Kılıçdaroğlu will 'definitely' win the second round

Republican People's Party Deputy Chairman and Party Spokesperson Faik Öztrak maintained Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu "definitely" will win the second round. 

"Yesterday's elections have shown that Erdogan did not get the vote of confidence from our nation," he said in a statement.

With only a few ballot boxes left to be counted, said the election results will not be impacted and the second round will generate greater support for the opposition leader. 

"For the next 15 days, we will do our best to bring right, law and justice to this country. The will of our nation is above all else. The National Alliance will take the lead. The winner will be democracy, the winner will be Turkey," he added. 

(Euronews)

Moscow-Ankara ties will deepen regardless of election results: Kremlin

The Kremlin said Monday that relations between Moscow and Ankara would continue to "deepen" regardless of who wins the Turkish presidential election.

"We are following the information coming from Turkey with great attention and interest. We will respect the choice of the Turkish people. But in any case, we expect our cooperation to continue, deepen and develop," said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The relationship between Turkey and Russia has strengthened in recent years under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu recently accused Russia of interfering in the election campaign. 

Russia has denied any interference in Turkey.

(AFP)

EU congratulates Turkish voters for democratic 'victory'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel on Monday hailed Turkish voters for their "very high turnout" in Sunday's first round of elections, calling it a "victory" for democracy.

"The very high turnout in these elections is really good news (...) It is a clear sign that the Turkish population is committed to exercising its democratic rights," von der Leyen said at a press conference alongside Michel, who also congratulated the Turkish citizens.

(AFP)

Turkish lira and stocks fall after elections

The Turkish currency, Lira, fell to a two-month low on early Monday as the country's sovereign dollar bonds tumbled.

The Borsa Istanbul 100 index was also down 4.2% after dropping as much as 6% early Monday.

(Euronews and AP) 

Turkey's ties with the EU and the West are at a historic low over the country's "backsliding on the rule of law and on fundamental rights" under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 

Opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has promised to restore the damage, and align with the West instead of Russia. 

Here's what the election, now headed to the second runoff means to the EU, Russia and the eastern Mediterranean: 

Turkish election: Here's how an opposition win could impact EU ties

Iran congratulates Turkey on the elections

Iran has congratulated Turkey on high participation rates in both presidential and parliamentary votes. 

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani called it a "victory for democracy in the neighbouring and Muslim country" on Twitter. 

As things stand, Turkey's presidential elections will be heading towards a second-round runoff. 

With 99.4% of the domestic votes and 84% of the overseas votes counted, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had 49.4% of the votes, with his main rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, garnering 45%, Ahmet Yener, the head of the Supreme Electoral Board, told reporters. A third candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan received 5.2%.

The election results have also shown that Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party is set to retain its majority in the 600-seat parliament, although the assembly has lost much of its legislative power after a referendum to change the country’s system of governance to an executive presidency narrowly passed in 2017.

Anadolu news agency said Erdoğan’s ruling party alliance was hovering around 49.3%, while Kılıçdaroğlu’s Nation Alliance had around 35.2%, and support for a pro-Kurdish party stood above 10%.

(AP) 

Kılıçdaroğlu confident about the runoff

Opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said he is confident about the second round of the election on May 28 as a runoff becomes increasingly likely with both candidates failing to clear the 50% threshold. 

"The need for a change in society exceeds 50%," he said addressing his supporters overnight. "We will definitely, definitely win this election in the second round." 

Many believe the second round will be tough for Kılıçdaroğlu after failing to secure wins despite leading the opinion polls in the build-up. His calls to restore democracy and get Turkey out of the "authoritarianism" of Erdogan garnered massive campaign support. 

Erdogan rival promises 'freedom and democracy' for Turkey

Votes from Turkish citizens living abroad are influential - despite opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu leading the count from polling stations around the world, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan is banking on his strongholds like France and Germany. 

Here's a detailed read on the first ever Turkish polling station in Lithuania and what makes foreign Turkish polling stations significant: 

Turkey's political rivalries play out in unexpected places

No delay in the vote count, says YSK

The President of the Supreme Electoral Board (YSK), Ahmet Yener, has ensured that there is no delay or problem with entering the presidential elections data.

"There is no problem or delay in entering YSK data at this time. Our data is shared in real-time with political parties," Yener explained to the Turkish news agency Anatolia.

Earlier, candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu had expressed concerns about the pace of the count via a tweet.

"I call out to our democracy workers on the field. Never leave the ballot boxes and election boards. We are here until every single vote is counted,” he said. 

Good morning! We're back with live updates from Turkey as the presidential election looks set to head to a runoff. 

With 91% of the votes counted, according to the Supreme Election Council (YSK), neither candidate has reached the 50% threshold to win directly. 

Both frontrunners, however, have expressed their confidence in winning the second round of votes.

"If our nation has chosen for a second round, that is also welcome,” incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier today, noting that votes from Turkish citizens living abroad still need to be tallied. He garnered 60% of the overseas vote in 2018.

“We will absolutely win the second round ... and bring democracy,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of the six-party alliance, and Erdogan's closest competitor. 

That's the end of our live blog for Sunday evening. Thank you for joining us today. 

We're back again at 07:00 CET on Monday morning with the latest news from Turkey as counting resumes after the presidential and parliamentary elections. 

Key points to note: 

- According to preliminary results, neither candidate has reached 50% threshold to win outright

- It looks as if, for the first time, Erdogan might have failed to win an election outright in the first round

- Millions of votes remain unverified, so there will be changes to the tallies when counting resumes

- Overseas votes, including from Erdogan strongholds in Germany and France, are also yet to be counted

- Any possible second round runoff election would take place on 28 May

- The third presidential party candidate, Sinan Oğan, who is currently polling just above 5%, could become a kingmaker if there is a second round of voting.

Election count shows Turkey's Erdogan may go to a presidential election runoff

Voter support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dipped below the majority required for him to win reelection outright with the ballot count from Turkey's national election nearly completed Sunday, making it more likely the country was headed toward a 28 May presidential runoff.

With almost 95% of ballot boxes counted, unofficial returns had Erdogan with 49.6% of the vote, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. His main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had 44.7% as the gap between the two shrank as the night went on.

Meanwhile, the opposition-leaning Anka news agency reported that with nearly all ballot boxes counted, Erdogan had 49% and Kilicdaroglu 45%. Ballots from Turkish citizens who voted from outside the country still needed to be added to the tallies, officials said, and a runoff election was not assured.

If neither candidate secures more than half of the vote, the two top candidates will compete in a head-to-head contest in two weeks. Turkey's election authority, the Supreme Electoral Board, said it was providing numbers to competing political parties “instantly” but would not make the results public until the count was completed and finalized.

(AP)

Preliminary results: Neither presidential candidate reaches 50% threshold

According to preliminary, unofficial results from Turkish media outlets, it looks as though neither presidential candidate has yet reached the 50% threshold required to win the election outright in the first round. 

According to the Anadolu News Agency, Erdogan has 49.76% of the votes, while Kılıçdaroğlu has 44.48%. 

Any possible second round of voting would be held on 28 May but at this point there are still millions of votes still to be counted, in particular in larger cities, and it is not yet clear if either candidate would be able to get more than 50% of the vote. 

(Euronews)

President Erdogan cautions against making any 'hasty' vote count announcements

Turkey's incumbent President Erdogan has taken to Twitter to praise the "great feast of democracy" which took place during parliamentary and presidential elections on Sunday. 

He hailed the "peace and quiet" of the vote, saying it was "an expression of the democratic maturity" of the country. 

However he also added a note of caution: 

"While the election was held in such a positive and democratic atmosphere and the vote counting is still going on, trying to announce results hastily means usurping the national will."

President Erdogan urged his supporters to stay at the ballot boxes until all the results are "officially finalised."

How have Turkey's overseas citizens voted? 

There are some partial results coming in from polling stations around the world, where the Turkish diaspora was able to cast their votes at local embassies. 

Some of the countries like Germany are traditionally strongholds of Erdogan supporters, while in other countries like the UK they have traditionally voted for the opposition. 

So what do we know so far from official results? 

UK: Kılıçdaroğlu 81% / Erdoğan 16%

France: Erdoğan 65% / Kılıçdaroğlu 32%

Germany: Erdoğan 65% / Kılıçdaroğlu 32%

Italy: Kılıçdaroğlu 53% / Erdoğan 34%

Sweden: Kılıçdaroğlu 57% / Erdoğan 40%

USA: Kılıçdaroğlu 80% / Erdoğan 16%

Only about 11% of ballot boxes have been opened, on a turnout of around 54%.

(Euronews)

Mayor of Istanbul criticises agency vote results

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has criticised the voting results issued by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. 

"The reputation of Anadolu Agency is below zero," he said in a video statement.

"We carefully inform our citizens never to rely on it. An Anadolu Agency and its executives who cut off the data flow when they saw the real numbers in Istanbul are null and void for us." 

Kılıçdaroğlu tweets: "We are ahead" 

The leader of Turkey's opposition bloc has sent a one word tweets. "We are ahead." 

It comes after early results from the state-run Anadolu News Agency showed that President Erdogan was ahead in the counting, but officials from Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's bloc says to be war of Anadolu results which might have been "manipulated." 

Erdogan has 'solid lead', state-run news agency claims

Early results from Turkey's national election Sunday showed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a solid lead after nearly 20% of ballot boxes were counted, the Turkish state-run news agency says.

Erdogan had 55% of the vote, compared to 39% garnered by main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Anadolu Agency reported.

Opinion surveys indicated the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan entered his bid for reelection trailing a challenger for the first time.

Faik Oztrak, a spokesman for Kilicdaroglu’s center-left party, cautioned the early returns were preliminary and said the “picture is extremely positive” for the opposition.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey as prime minister or president since 2003. Pre-election polling suggested he faced the toughest reelection battle of his two decades leading the NATO member country, which has grappled with economic turmoil and the erosion of democratic checks-and-balances in recent years.

(AP) 

Opposition gives a warning about some election results

Turkish opposition figures have just finished giving media briefing, warning about election results that come in from the state-owned Anadolu Agency. 

CHP spokesman Faik Öztrak says the first data the party is receiving is "extremely positive," and accuses the state news agency Anadolu, whose data shows Erdoğan ahead so far, of manipulation.

They claim that Anadolu is publishing results which show incumbent President Erdogan in the lead, to shape public opinion and perception. 

(Euronews)

Some election results start to trickle in

Two sources are providing partial election results in Turkey, but they are both showing quite different information:

(Twitter)

How could the election result impact EU ties?

Turkish election: Here's how an opposition win could impact EU ties

Supreme Election Board lifts ban on broadcasting results

Turkey's Supreme Election Board has lifted a ban on broadcasting results as of 18:30 local time (15:30 GMT). 

In line with election law, news, forecasts and commentaries are usually banned until 18:00 local time. Reports on some aspects of the election are then allowed, but the media are only free to report on any actual election results from 21:00 local time (18:00 GMT) as they start to roll in from across Turkey. 

The Supreme Election Board can decide to lift the reporting embargo earlier, or keeping in place a bit longer as it appears they have done today. 

(Anadolu Agency)

With voting closed, what happens next? 

Polls closed at 17:00 local time in Turkey, and counting begins.

For the presidential election, the winner must obtain a majority of 50% of the votes plus one. If that doesn't happen, there would be a second round of voting on 28 May.

In 2018, during the last presidential election, the head of state won in the first round with more than 52.5% of the vote, which meant there was no second round of voting required.

(AFP)

Presidential challenger calls on supporters to stay at polling stations

The main challenger to Turkey's incumbent president is calling on his supporters not to leave polling stations early. 

Writing on Twitter, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said: 

"I would like to appeal to our heroes of democracy. Do not leave the polling stations under any circumstances until the last signed ballot box report is delivered. The full and correct manifestation of the nation's will depends on your determination. You will see, it will be worth your tiredness."

(Twitter)

There will not be any kind of official information until 9:00 p.m., so the afternoon is tense for many Turks. More than 64 million were called to the polls. Among them, obviously, the two candidates for president, Erdogan and Kiliçdaroglu, who have voted in Istanbul and Ankara respectively. It should be noted that voting day has passed without any type of incident.

POLLS CLOSE IN TURKEY

The polls are officially closed in Turkey and the counting of votes now begins.

Regardless of the results of the parliamentary elections, all attention is focused on seeing which coalition wins the presidential elections:  Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), or the so-called National Alliance, with Kemal Kılıçdaroglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) at the helm.

One of the two will be elected president tonight, unless they do not win with a majority of more than 50% of the votes, in which case there will be a second round.