Speaking to supporters in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he could still win the country's presidential election but would respect the nation’s decision if the race went to a runoff vote in two weeks.
By SUZAN FRASER and ZEYNEP BILGINSOYLeaders vote in landmark Turkish elections
“We don’t yet know if the elections ended in the first round. ... If our nation has chosen for a second round, that is also welcome,” Erdogan said early Monday, noting that votes from Turkish citizens living abroad still need to be tallied. He garnered 60% of the overseas vote in 2018. Turkey’s election authority, the Supreme Electoral Board, said it was providing numbers to competing political parties “instantly” and would make the results public once the count was completed and finalized.
Erdogan, 69, has governed Turkey as either prime minister or president since 2003. In the run-up to the election, opinion surveys had indicated the increasingly authoritarian leader narrowly trailed his challenger. While Erdogan hopes to win a five-year term that would take him well into his third decade as Turkey’s leader, Kilicdaroglu, 74, campaigned on promises to reverse crackdowns on free speech and other forms of democratic backsliding, as well as to repair an economy battered by high inflation and currency devaluation.
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