Polling stations in the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections officially closed at 5 PM local time (14:00 GMT) after voting took place for nine hours.
Preliminary results of the Turkish presidential elections on Sunday showed Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the lead, receiving 59.47% of the votes compared to 34.79% for his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu, according to Channel Haber Turk. The channel reported that the results were based on 9.1% of the votes. Additionally, four sources from the Turkish opposition told Reuters that their candidate Kilicdaroglu had a slight lead over President Erdogan according to preliminary election results. Erdogan responded to the Turkish opposition, saying: "Announcing premature results means stealing the will of the people." He also urged the public, stating: "Turks should not leave any ballot box uncounted until the official results appear." Sources from both camps indicated that based on the preliminary results, the presidential election is likely heading for a runoff on May 28, as neither of the main candidates secured the necessary 50% for a direct win. The High Election Board in Turkey lifted the publication ban on preliminary election results starting from 6:30 PM local time. After the closing of the polling stations, President Erdogan stated that it was time to cling to the ballot boxes and called for citizens to continue protecting the will of the people until the final results are announced. In turn, candidate for the presidency Sinan Oğan remarked that it was time to protect the ballot boxes until the final vote count was completed, urging "our heroes in democracy not to leave the ballot boxes." The voting process occurred without any issues, according to the head of the High Election Board in Turkey.
At the beginning of the election day, President Erdogan called on all Turkish citizens to cast their votes "to demonstrate the strength of democracy in our country." After casting his own vote, he confirmed that the voting in the earthquake-affected regions was "proceeding normally and without issues."
Kilicdaroglu (74 years old) cast his vote in Ankara, smiling amid applause from the waiting crowds as he exited the polling station. He told the media, "I express my deep love and respect for all citizens who go to the ballot box and cast their votes. We all miss democracy greatly."
The Turks voted today in one of the most important elections in modern Turkey's history. Polls indicated that Erdogan's main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had a slight lead. However, should either fail to attain more than 50% of the votes, a runoff will be held on May 28. Voters will select a new parliament, with a close race anticipated between Erdogan's People’s Alliance and Kilicdaroglu's Nation Alliance, consisting of six opposition parties, including the Republican People's Party founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. The organization "Human Rights Watch" in its global report for 2022 noted, "Erdogan's government has caused Turkey's human rights record to deteriorate for decades." Thus, should Oğan win, he will face challenges in maintaining a united opposition coalition comprising nationalists, Islamists, secularists, and liberals.
The Turkish electorate participated in the voting process that began this morning across more than 191,000 polling stations throughout Turkey to elect a new president for a five-year term and choose members of the 600-seat parliament. Approximately 60 million and 697 thousand voters were expected to cast their votes, including more than 4 million participating for the first time. The High Election Board of Turkey implemented various measures in the 11 provinces affected by the February 6, 2023 earthquake to ensure the elections proceeded smoothly in makeshift centers designated for this purpose.
