The state news agency Anadolu reported Sunday night that Erdogan was 89 percent counted with 49.94 percent of the vote ahead of Kilicdaroglu (44.3 percent). The opposition saw Kilicdaroglu at 47.7 percent, Erdogan at 45.8 percent after counting around 130,000 ballot boxes. According to Anadolu, the candidate of an ultra-nationalist party alliance, Sinan Ogan, had 5.3 percent. If this result stays the same, there would be a run-off election on May 28th.
There were also signs of a tight race in the parliamentary elections, which also took place on Sunday. After opening 82.7 percent of the voting boxes, the Erdogan Alliance has a narrow majority of 50.5 percent of the votes, according to Anadolu. According to Anadolu, the alliance around Kilicdaroglu would only get 34.5 percent of the votes. Even with the support of the alliance around the pro-Kurdish HDP (9.5 percent), it would still fall short of an absolute majority.
Opposition sees tactical maneuvers
The opposition questioned the official figures and accused Erdogan’s conservative Islamic governing party, the AKP, of “tactical manoeuvres” during the count. The mayors of Ankara and Istanbul, Mansur Yavas and Ekrem Imamoglu, criticized that the AKP was deliberately objecting to the results in opposition strongholds.
State authorities would deliberately spread false figures in order to beautify Erdogan’s values. The two city leaders are Kilicdaroglu’s party colleagues in the CHP. Kilicdaroglu called on the electoral authorities to count as soon as possible. “The country can no longer tolerate the uncertainty,” said the 74-year-old.
ORF correspondent Wagner on the Turkey election
ZIB correspondent Katharina Wagner talks, among other things, about the dispute over the counting results and whether there will be a runoff election in two weeks.
Kilicdaroglu called on his supporters to remain at the ballot box until the end of the count. “Never leave the polls and the electoral commissions,” he said. “We’ll stay here until every vote is counted.”
Numerous provinces where the opposition is traditionally strong have not yet been counted, said Kilicdaroglu. “At the polls, where we have a high proportion of votes, they block the system with successive objections,” he told the AKP. In Ankara there are about 300 ballot boxes objected to, in Istanbul around 780. “There are ballot boxes against which objections have been raised eleven times. What you are blocking is the will of Türkiye. You can’t prevent what’s to come with appeals,” Kilicdaroglu said.
Erdogan and AKP attack opposition
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the opposition’s statements during the ongoing count on Twitter as “stealing the national will”. AKP spokesman Ömer Celik accused the opposition of a “dictatorial attitude” during the vote count because they announced the results early on.
The national electoral authority announced shortly before midnight on Sunday that 69 percent of the votes cast at home and abroad had been entered into their system. In Austria, Erdogan’s AKP is likely to have won well over 70 percent of the votes among Turkish voters. Around 64 million people in Germany and abroad were invited to vote.
High turnout expected
The electoral commission in Turkey lifted the ban on the early publication of election results two hours earlier than expected on Sunday evening. According to unconfirmed reports, voter turnout is likely to be in excess of 90 percent, which observers saw as an advantage for Kilicdaroglu. The opposition candidate was recently ahead in the polls, especially in the metropolitan areas.
Türkiye election: tight race is emerging
According to the first results, the presidential election in Turkey will be a tight race between incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Erdogan, who has ruled for more than two decades, is now the most powerful head of state in Turkey since Ataturk. However, its popularity has suffered, partly because of high inflation, which drastically increases the cost of living for many people in Turkey.
Kilicdaroglu has announced plans to restore Turkey to a parliamentary democracy, reduce the president’s powers and ensure the independence of the judiciary. He also wants to make peacekeeping a central part of his foreign policy.
