Who’s who and how it works
Latest figures from the state-owned Anadolu Agency show no candidate in the presidential first round having won 50%; as such the race will go to a run-off in two weeks time between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the incumbent, and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, backed by several opposition parties.
The official election authority, the YSK, agreed that a run-off will be needed, as things stand. It says that with a slightly lower proportion of ballot boxes opened, Erdoğan had 49.49%, with Kılıçdaroğlu on 44.49%. Both the AA and the YSK were criticised by opposition parties overnight for giving a misleading impression of Erdoğan’s lead.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been at the pinnacle of Turkish politics for more than two decades. He was prime minister from 2003 to 2014 and has been president since. In the meantime he has ensured that the role of president has become the pre-eminent office of state. His Justice and Development party (AKP) is populist and conservative and leans away from Turkey’s secularist past and toward Islamism.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a 74-year-old retired civil servant, has been Turkey’s main opposition leader for more than a decade, leading his Republican People’s party (CHP) to major victories in a string of big-city municipalities including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.
The rightwing Sinan Oğan, a former Nationalist Movement party (MHP) member, is running as an independent.
In an 11th-hour twist, the final candidate, Muharrem İnce, a rightwing nationalist, withdrew from the race days before polling day after the release of a sex tape that he said was a deepfake.
The presidential election runs on the same basis as the French or Brazilian presidential elections; if a candidate exceeds 50% of the vote in the first round, they are elected. If not, the top two candidates go to a runoff in two weeks’ time.
At the same time as the presidential election, Turkish voters are choosing a new parliament. Seats are allotted by strict proportionality to any party or alliance that exceeds 7% of the popular vote. The parliament has taken a back seat in recent years, but could become significant again if Kılıçdaroğlu wins the presidency and keeps his promise to restrict its powers.
The data here is from the state-run Anadolu Agency; full results are expected from the official election authority later today.
