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Türkiye 2023 election goes to historic runoff

Turkish voters will head to polls again on May 28 to elect the president after no candidate won an outright majority in Sunday's poll, head of the country's election authority says.

TRT World

Erdogan (L), joint candidate for the People's Alliance, and his closest competitor Kilicdaroglu (R), main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) chair and joint candidate for the six-party opposition Nation Alliance, will face off in the second round./ Photo: TRT World

Türkiye's 2023 presidential election has gone to a runoff after no candidate won a majority of the vote in the first round on May 14.

The first round of voting on Sunday ended with no candidate able to clear the required 50 percent threshold, but incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took a "clear lead".

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country has completed another "festival of democracy" with May 14 elections, adding the country has witnessed one of highest turnouts in the nation's history.

He finished the first round with 49.51 percent of the vote, according to head of the Supreme Election Council (YSK) Ahmet Yener. While Erdogan's main oppenant Kemal Kilicdaroglu, secured 44.88 percent.

The run-off will be between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu and is set for May 28.

Meanwhile, Sinan Ogan of the Ata Alliance got 5.17 percent in the first-round, while Muharrem Ince, who withdrew from the presidential race late last week after ballots had already been printed, got 0.44 percent.

In the parliamentary elections, the People's Alliance won 49.46 percent of the votes, securing 322 seats in parliament, while the Nation Alliance won 35.02 percent, securing 213 seats.

Voter turnout was 88.92 percent, with turnout from Turkish citizens abroad at 52.69 percent, Yener said. Data entry continues for 35,874 ballots cast abroad, he noted.

Among the 64.1 million registered voters, 88.92 percent of the voters cast their ballots, one of the highest turnouts the country has witnessed since it transitioned to multiparty elections in 1946.

The results were one of the strong indicators of Türkiye being a robust democracy, showing the country's voters were not afraid to express their electoral choices.

#BREAKING: Türkiye’s presidential election heads to a run-off on May 28 after no candidate secured the minimum 50% required to win during the first round pic.twitter.com/gNcGL6rzJ8
— TRT World (@trtworld) May 15, 2023

Election process

The two main candidates faced off in a heated contest on Sunday after weeks of intense campaigning. A total of 192,214 ballot boxes were set up for voters in the country.

Every voter cast two ballots, one for the president and the other for parliamentary deputies, all of whom are set to serve five-year terms.

More than 30 political parties and over 150 independent parliamentary candidates competed in the elections.

There were five multiparty blocs in the running: the People's Alliance, Nation Alliance, Ata Alliance, Labor and Freedom Alliance, and and Socialist Union Alliance.

The polls opened at 8:00 AM (0500 GMT) and closed at 5:00 PM (1400 GMT) on Sunday.