Turkey braced Monday for its first election runoff after a night of drama showed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan edging ahead of his secular rival but failing to secure a first-round win.
According to Turkey's Supreme Election Council, Erdogan won 49.51 of the vote, against 44.88 percent of his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
The two will face each other again in a runoff election set for 28 May.
EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel congratulated Turkish voters on their large turnout in the first round of national elections, hailing this as a win for democracy.
"It's a very clear sign that the Turkish people are committed to exercising their democratic rights to go and vote and that they value the democratic institutions," von der Leyen said.
Michel also congratulated "Turkish citizens" on their turnout, but neither of Brussels top two officials would be drawn on Turkey's long moribund bid for eventual EU membership.
Erdogan sounded triumphant as he emerged before a sea of supporters shortly after midnight to proclaim himself ready to lead the nation for another five years.
"I wholeheartedly believe that we will continue to serve our people in the coming five years," the 69-year-old leader said to huge cheers.
He also claimed his Islamic ruling party and its ultranationalist allies had captured a clear majority in parliament.
Kilicdaroglu's camp had initially contested the vote count and claimed to be ahead.
But the 74-year-old looked slightly despondent as he faced reporters early Monday and admitted that a runoff is inevitable.
Election #Turkiye pic.twitter.com/pG2Pu4vKkJ
— Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) May 14, 2023
"We will absolutely win in the second round," he said.
"The will for change in the society is higher than 50 percent."
The lira fell against the dollar and euro on investor disappointment that Erdogan's era of unconventional economics may not be over.
Fervent support
Reported turnout approached 90 percent in what has become a referendum on Turkey's longest-serving leader and his Islamic-rooted party.
Erdogan has steered the nation of 85 million through one of its most transformative and divisive eras.
Turkey has grown into a military and geopolitical heavyweight that plays roles in conflicts from Syria to Ukraine.
The NATO member's footprint in both Europe and the Middle East makes the election's outcome as critical for Washington and Brussels as it is for Damascus and Moscow.
Erdogan is lionised across swathes of conservative Turkey that witnessed a development boom during his rule.
More religious voters are also grateful for his decision to lift secular-era restrictions on headscarves and introduce more Islamic schools.
Kingmaker vote
Much of the attention will now focus on a little know independent candidate who has turned into a kingmaker by picking up and with 5 percent of the vote.
Sinan Ogan was expelled from an ultranationalist party that has since joined forces with Erdogan and entered the campaign a few months before the vote.
"We will not say if we will support this or that candidate," Ogan said Sunday. "We will hold consultations with their representatives and then decide."
(with wires)
