Erdogan clings on as Turkish election heads for May 28th run-off

Turkey appeared set for a run-off vote in its landmark presidential election as counting indicated no absolute majority for either strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan or the opposition candidate who vowed to end what he called “one-man rule”.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu ran on a platform of restoring Turkey’s democratic institutions and the rule of law as the joint candidate for six opposition parties who teamed up in an effort to end Mr Erdogan’s increasingly iron-fisted two decades in power.

Tallies suggested a minority third candidate won about 5 per cent of the vote, denying either of the frontrunners the 50 per cent needed to win the presidential election outright in the first round and making for a run-off between them on May 28th.

Turkey’s state-owned news agency initially reported Mr Erdogan to have a significant lead that would have made for a clean victory, but this fell away as city votes were counted leaving him far more narrowly ahead.

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In a statement, Mr Erdogan called on his supporters to stay with ballot boxes “no matter what” until the result was finalised, describing the premature announcement of results as a “usurpation of the national will”.

High turnout

The election was seen as a referendum on Turkey’s future a century since the founding of the secular republic. With deep repercussions at stake for the wider region, turnout was reported to be the highest in years at 88.3 per cent despite the disruption of February’s devastating earthquake.

The centre-left Mr Kilicdaroglu, a mild-mannered ex-civil servant who spoke of uniting a polarised society, emerged as the first serious challenger to Mr Erdogan’s rule in a generation.

He promised to wrest Turkey’s economy from its severe cost-of-living crisis after Mr Erdogan pursued an unorthodox monetary policy of insisting interest rates must be cut even as inflation hit 85 per cent and the value of the Lira plunged.

Mr Erdogan offered wage hikes, appealed to family values, and cast the opposition as a threat to the state as he sought to shore up his deeply loyal support base as he slipped behind in polls ahead of the election.

With parliamentary elections held simultaneously, which political force would control the assembly was unclear.