Preliminary results show Erdogan losing majority in Turkey elections
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Neither AKP’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor his main rival CHP’s Kemal Kilicdaroglu seemed to have achieved the 50 percent of votes to win the May 14, 2023 Turkish election.
Preliminary results of the election showed that both parties failed to secure the 50 percent, raising the prospects of a runoff vote.
With almost 96 percent of ballot boxes counted, Erdogan had 49.4 percent of the vote. While His main rival, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had 44.8 percent after the gap between the two shrank as the night went on.
Voting for Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections has begun in the country. Polling centers opened at 8 am and closed at 5 pm.
As polls closed at 5 pm, a blankout on reporting on the results was imposed on the country until 9 pm. It has been lifted as of 6.30 pm – similar to previous elections. A lack of exit polls in Turkey means no conclusive results are likely to emerge until much later tonight.
One of the most decisive impacts on this election may not be a disregard for electoral law, however, but a strict adherence to it. Reportedly, Muharrem Ince, a presidential candidate who had thrown in the towel days before the election, is still on the ballot. While Ince publically announced his resignation, it came too late for Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board; it will be counting votes cast for him in the final tally. The vote count is now underway.
The newest polls seem to have made an impression on Erdogan, though. In a televised interview, he promised he would leave if voted out. It is the first public admittance that he may not win these elections. In the same interview, the president also said he would scrap the 50 percent threshold for presidential elections, thereby effectively ending the two-round system.