Türkiye Heads for Run-off for First Time in History in Presidential Elections

Türkiye is awaiting, for the first time in its history, a first round of presidential elections, after the two main contenders for the presidential seat, the current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, failed to win the first round.

The first round witnessed Erdogan's progress over his secular rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, without the current president succeeding in securing enough votes to confirm his victory in the first round.

According to the official Anadolu Agency, the results of the counting of votes indicated that Erdogan won 49.35% and Kilicdaroglu 45%, after counting 98.74% of the votes so far.

Erdogan, 69, appeared in front of a crowd of his supporters after midnight to announce his great advantage over his closest rival, hinting at his victory in the first round, pointing at the same time to the possibilities of going to a re-round to resolve the presidential competition.

Erdogan, who has ruled Türkiye since 2003 and has not been defeated in more than 10 national elections, was only slightly unable to achieve the required 50%+1, announcing at the same time that his ruling party had won a clear majority in the Turkish Parliament.

The second round of presidential elections, for the first time in the country's history, is scheduled to be officially held on May 28.