Türkiye’s first presidential runoff, mostly Muslim.
Ankara, Türkiye:
Turkey prepared for its first election runoff on Monday after a night of high drama saw President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pull ahead of his secular rival but fail to clinch a first-round victory.
Erdogan looked triumphant as he emerged in front of a sea of supporters shortly after midnight and declared himself ready to lead the country for five years.
Nearly complete results of Turkey’s most important election of the post-Ottoman era showed Erdogan – in power since 2003 and undefeated in more than a dozen national votes – fell short of the required 50 percent threshold.
“I believe with all my heart that we will continue to serve our people in the coming five years,” the 69-year-old leader said to thunderous applause.
He also claimed that his Islamist ruling party and its ultra-nationalist allies have won a clear majority in parliament.
Figures from the Anadolu state news agency showed Erdogan received 49.4 percent of the vote.
Leader of the Opposition Kemal Kilikdaroglu was trailing with 45.0 percent – a disappointing result after late pre-election polls showed him ahead.
Turkey’s first presidential runoff in the mostly Muslim but officially secular state’s 100-year history is planned for May 28.
Kilicdaroglu’s camp initially protested the vote count and claimed to be ahead.
But the 74-year-old looked a bit disheveled when facing reporters early Monday and admitted a runoff looked inevitable.
He said, “If our country talks about a second round, we will definitely win in the second round.”
“The desire for change in society is more than 50 percent.”
high stakes
A referendum on Turkey’s longest-serving leader and his Islamic-origin party was expected to reach 90 percent.
Erdogan has led the country of 85 million through one of its most transformative and divisive eras.
Turkey has developed into a military and geopolitical heavyweight that plays a role in conflicts from Syria to Ukraine.
The NATO member’s footprint in both Europe and the Middle East makes the outcome of the election as important to Washington and Brussels as it is to Damascus and Moscow.
Erdogan is lionized in areas of conservative Turkey, which saw a growth spurt during his rule.
More religious voters are also grateful for his decision to lift a secular-era ban on headscarves and start more Islamic schools.
“The most important thing is that we don’t divide Turkey,” Istanbul voter Recep Turktan told AFP after casting his vote.
“We will do our duty. I say, go with Erdogan,” the 67-year-old said.
‘We all missed democracy’
Erdogan’s first decade of economic resurgence and warming relations with Europe was followed by a second decade of social and political upheaval.
He responded to the failed 2016 coup attempt with a sweeping purge that sent a chill through Turkish society and made him an increasingly uncomfortable partner for the West.
The rise of Kilicdaroglu and his six-party opposition coalition – the type of broad-based coalition Erdogan has excelled at building throughout his career – gives foreign allies and Turkish voters a clear choice.
A runoff in two weeks could give Erdogan time to regroup and restart the debate.
But he was still troubled by Turkey’s worst economic crisis during his time in power, and troubled by his government’s faltering response to February’s earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people.
“We all missed democracy,” Kilikdaroglu said after voting in the capital, Ankara. “You will see, God willing, spring will come in this country.”
‘Can’t see my future’
Pre-election polls indicated that Kilicdaroglu would win the youth vote – around 10 percent of the electorate – by a two-to-one margin.
“I can’t see my future,” 18-year-old university student Kivank Dal told AFP in Istanbul on the eve of the vote.
Erdogan “can make as many tanks and weapons as he wants, but as long as I don’t have a penny in my pocket, I have no respect for it”.
But Deniz Aydemir, a nursery school teacher, said his vote for Erdogan would be due to Turkey’s economic and social progress after half a century of corruption-free secular rule.
The 46-year-old also questioned how a country could be governed by a coalition of six parties – Erdogan’s favorite attacking line during the campaign.
“Yes, the prices are high…but at least there is prosperity,” he said.
As election day approached, Erdogan’s campaign adapted to his core supporters.
He dubbed the opposition a “pro-LGBT” lobby that took orders from banned Kurdish militants and was backed by the West.
Erdogan’s ministers and pro-government media made dark mentions of a Western “political coup” plot.
The opposition started worrying that Erdogan was trying to hold on to power at any cost.
Erdogan was asked if he would agree to quit if he lost.
“It’s a very silly question,” he said on the eve of the vote. “We will do what democracy requires.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)