By India Today World Desk: Turkey appeared headed for a runoff presidential election as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu neither reached the 50 per cent threshold needed to win the crucial polls on Sunday (local time).
Erdogan (69), is seeking a third five-year term as the president in an election seen as a verdict on his authoritarian governance. He has ruled the country with an iron fist for 20 years — first as prime minister from 2003 to 2014 and as president since 2014.
Neither he nor Kilicdaroglu cleared the 50 per cent threshold required to avoid a second round of polls, scheduled to be held on May 28, news agency Reuters reported.
According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Erdogan led with 49.39 per cent of votes as against 44.92 per cent by Kilicdaroglu. Nearly 97 per cent of the ballot boxes have been counted so far, according to the Supreme Electoral Board, the country’s poll body.
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BOTH SIDES CLAIM VICTORY
Both camps claimed victory as counting was going on. While Erdogan’s supporters celebrated in various cities, including the capital Ankara, Kilicdaroglu urged his supporters to be patient and accused Erdogan’s party of interfering in the ballot counting process.
Ahead of the presidential election, several opinion polls had predicted a tight contest but had given Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead. Two polls released on Friday said he would likely reach beyond the 50 per cent threshold.
Erdogan performed better than the opinion polls had predicted and he addressed his flag-waving and cheering supporters even as vote counting is underway.
“We are already ahead of our closest rival by 2.6 million votes. We expect this figure to increase with official results,” Erdogan said.
ADVANTAGE ERDOGAN IN RUNOFF
Political experts believe that Erdogan would have an added advantage in the second runoff as his alliance performed well beyond expectations.
“Erdogan will have an advantage in a second vote after his alliance did far better than the opposition’s alliance,” said Hakan Akbas, managing director of political advisory Strategic Advisory Services.
A third candidate, Sinan Ogan, polled 5.3 per cent of the votes so far and could play the role of a kingmaker in the second round depending upon the candidate he would endorse, according to analysts.
The presidential vote will decide not only who leads Turkey, a NATO-member country of 85 million, but also whether it reverts to a more secular, democratic path; how it will handle its severe cost of living crisis and manage key relations with Russia, the Middle East and the West.
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ERDOGAN PARTY’S INTERFERING IN POLL RESULTS
Turkish opposition parties alleged that Erdogan’s party was lodging objections in connection with the results and that election officials were declaring results in a manner that artificially boosted Erdogan’s tally.
Kilicdaroglu said Erdogan’s party objected to the count of over 1,000 ballot boxes and was “destroying the will of Turkey”.
“You cannot prevent what will happen with objections. We will never let this become a fait accompli,” he said.
Over 64 million people, including overseas voters, were eligible to vote. The turnout was nearly 89 per cent. This year marks 100 years of Turkey being a republic.
In the run-up to the election, Erdogan campaigned on a promise of providing stability and further his agenda on economy, inflation and other domestic issues while Kilicdaroglu promised to reverse crackdowns on free speech and other forms of democratic backsliding under Erdogan’s authoritarian tenure, according to the Associated Press.
PARLIAMENTARY POLLS
Along with the presidential polls, Turkey also voted to elect members of the 600-seat Parliament. The People’s Alliance of Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AKP, the nationalist MHP, and others appeared set for a majority.
The alliance is projected to win 324 seats while Kilicdaroglu’s Nation Alliance formed of six opposition parties, including his secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), is on course for 211 seats. So far, 93 per cent of votes have been counted.
The Labour and Freedom alliance, led by the pro-Kurdish Green Left party, is predicted to win 65 seats in the parliamentary vote.
Both the presidential and parliamentary elections took place following devastating earthquakes in southeast Turkey in February, which claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people.
Several people expressed displeasure over the tepid government response in the initial stages. However, there is little evidence that the issue could play a role in the polls and how people will vote.
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