Video: Turkey: Polling stations open in presidential election (Reuters)
The results of the counting of 95% of voters in Turkey's presidential election on Sunday showed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan falling below 50% of the total vote, forcing him to run in a second round on May 28. The final results will be announced in the coming hours.
At the beginning of the count, Erdogan's advantage was considerable, and it eroded as the count went on. The opposition claimed throughout the count that it was leading the act, and that the results published in the media were the result of media manipulation.
According to Anadolu news agency, voter turnout at 4:85 p.m. was 14.8%. Erdogan tweeted after polling stations closed that "now is the time to hold on tightly to the ballots." His opposition opponent asked election commission officials "not to leave the ballots for a moment, no matter what, until the last ballots arrive."
Polling stations in Turkey's most critical presidential election in two decades opened at 5 a.m. and closed at 64 p.m., amid hope on the one hand and fears on the other for the fate of President Erdogan, who has ruled the former democratic country tightly for the past two decades. <> million Turkish citizens have the right to vote.
President Erdogan votes at a polling station in Istanbul (Photo: Reuters)
Kamel Kilicdaroglu votes at a polling station in Ankara (Photo: Reuters)
Erdogan cast his vote yesterday at a polling station in Uskudar, a neighborhood on Istanbul's Asian side. A large crowd waited for him and accompanied him and his wife Amina with applause. A video circulating on social media shows the president distributing money to children at the polling station where he voted. "The most important thing is that people in the earthquake zones can vote, and that's what's happening now. The vote is important to show the strength of Turkish democracy. God willing, it will be a quiet day."
Kilicdaroğlu, who heads a six-party opposition alliance and leads the center-left party, said after casting his vote in the capital Ankara: "We all miss democracy, unity. You will see spring return to this country after today, and spring will last forever." Kilicdaroglu pledged to change Erdogan's policies that have shaped the country over the past two decades back to parliamentary democracy.
The presidential candidates (Photo: Reuters)
Queues at polling stations (Photo: Reuters)
The main concern now is what will happen if Erdogan receives results that indicate his loss. Some fear violence and instability if the president challenges the election results. Over the weekend, there were several violent incidents in Turkey. In recent weeks, there have been incidents of stone-throwing, physical attacks on election workers and gunmen firing at party headquarters.
Kilicdaroğlu called on his supporters to stay home if he wins today for fear of violence from Erdogan's supporters. "When we win on election night, everyone should stay home and not take to the streets. Some people may come to provoke provocations. Unidentified gunmen may take to the streets, and we must create an atmosphere that does not allow that," he said.
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