Turkey election results: Erdogan vs Kilicdaroglu in run-off
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu [Reuters
Turkey’s presidential election will be decided in a May 28 run-off vote after incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu failed to win an outright majority in the first round, according to the electoral body.
Erdogan took 49.5 percent of Sunday’s vote while Kilicdaroglu got 44.89 percent of the vote.
Sinan Ogan, of the right-wing ATA Alliance, received 5.17 percent, emerging as a potential kingmaker.
Erdogan’s alliance has also retained its hold on the country’s parliament, following Sunday’s legislative ballot.
Earthquake-hit regions back Erdogan and his party
The presidential and parliamentary election results in Turkey’s earthquake-hit provinces have revealed major support for President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The 11 provinces that were affected by the twin earthquakes in February were Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Sanliurfa, Adiyaman, Osmaniye, Adana and Elazig.
Eight of the 11 provinces that were hit by the temblors backed Erdogan in the presidential polls. The ones that voted for Kilicdaroglu were Adana, Hatay and Diyarbakir.
In the parliamentary polls, 10 of them voted for Erdogan’s AKP with the exception of predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir.
Erdogan’s bloc holds lead in parliamentary vote in Istanbul, Ankara
Turkey is closely watching electoral results in major cities, with Istanbul set to be key in determining the general outcome.
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu said Erdogan’s ruling bloc is holding a lead in the city of 15.4 million, as well as in the capital Ankara, according to the parliamentary election results.
However, Erdogan’s rival Kilicdaroglu led the polls in the two key provinces in the presidential polls.
The coastal city of Izmir remained a stronghold of Kilicdaroglu’s Republican People’s Party [CHP] and also voted for him.
In eastern and southeastern cities, “most of the voters have voted for the green left party, which is the new umbrella for the pro-Kurdish HDP”, Koseoglu said