A second round on May 28 now seems proven. Turkey's two contenders, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his opponent, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, both say they can win in Sunday's vote.
Not quite a victory, but certainly not a defeat for Erdogan, an Islamic-conservative autocrat at the head of the country for twenty years, who said he was convinced in front of a tide of supporters exulting in the middle of the night "to serve his country for five more years".
President Erdogan, and his wife, greeting their supporters in Ankara.
The same confidence was displayed by his rival, who promised his camp that he would "absolutely win in the second round", arguing "the need for change in society".
On the evening of an election that saw an unprecedented mobilization of the electorate, despite the crisis and three months after the devastating earthquake of February 6, the 69-year-old "reis" claims to be "clearly ahead" of the presidential election, but ready to "respect" a second round if necessary.
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"We do not yet know if the election is over with this first round but if the people take us to the second round we will respect it," he promised.
This is the first time that the head of State, 69, would be forced to stand a second time before the electorate because he did not win 50% of the vote.
The 3rd candidate at 5%
Facing him the Social Democrat Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, a 74-year-old former senior civil servant who led an unprecedented coalition of six opposition parties, was regularly given the lead by pollsters, even by a short lead.
Social Democrat candidate Kemal KiliçdarogluREUTERS/Yves Herman REUTERS
But according to the results of 95% of the ballots, he totaled just 45% of the vote at 03:30 Monday (00:30 GMT) according to the official Anadolu Agency.
His camp immediately disputed this figure, saying that the results of the polling stations most favorable to the candidate remained blocked in the system of the Electoral Commission (YSK).
"You are obstructing Turkey's will. But you cannot prevent what will happen, we will never accept a fait accompli," Kiliçdaroglu warned.
The third candidate, Sinon Ogan, a dissident from the nationalist MHP party credited with around 5% of the vote, is preparing to negotiate them without specifying with whom.
In the evening, the two sides engaged in a battle of numbers, instructing their respective observers to remain at the counting site "until the end".
"We want the French Revolution"
Throughout the day, ballot boxes had filled at high speed with large mustard-colored envelopes deposited by enthusiastic voters who sometimes waited several hours before being able to vote.
The turnout, apparently close to 90%, has not been officially communicated. The 64 million voters also had to choose the 600 deputies who will sit in the unicameral parliament in Ankara. Erdogan claimed "half" of it for his camp.
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In 2018, during the last presidential election, the head of state won in the first round with more than 52.5% of the vote. This ballot is already a setback for Mr. Erdogan, who has been able to develop his country and pull it towards prosperity before an autocratic drift. And an encouragement for the secular and pro-democracy vision of Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, head of the CHP, the party of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey.
"To put it simply, we want the French revolution: Equality, liberty, fraternity, because in the last 20 years, all that has disappeared," said Ulvi Aminci, 58, wearing blue jeans and a tattoo on his hand, in an upscale district of Istanbul.
"I say continue with Erdogan," implored Nurcan Soyer, headscarf, outside Erdogan's polling station on the Asian side.
In the battered city of Antakya, the former Antioch (south) ruined by the February earthquake, Mehmet Topaloglu, who arrived among the first, demanded "changemen: enough".
Kiliçdaroglu led a united front of six parties from the nationalist right to the liberal centre-left that was supposed to guarantee him victory, with the support of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, the country's third largest political force.
Mr. Erdogan, on the other hand, was facing a country worn out by an economic crisis, with a currency devalued by half in two years and inflation that exceeded 85% in the autumn.
Despite everything, "the people have chosen stability and security in this presidential election," he said.