Preliminary results of the Turkish presidential runoff vote indicate that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading and poised to extend his rule into a third decade.
Unofficial preliminary results released by the state-run Anadolu agency, with 98.9% of the ballots counted, show Erdogan securing 52.07% of the votes, while opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 47.93%. The voter turnout was reported to be 85.6%.
Although the official confirmation of the election results is still pending, Erdogan celebrated what seemed to be a victory outside his residence in Istanbul. He jubilantly sang atop a campaign bus and addressed a large crowd of fervent supporters, expressing his gratitude to the nation.
Erdogan credited the people’s support for successfully completing the second round of the presidential election, thanking them for their participation and considering all 85 million Turkish citizens winners in the elections held on May 14 and May 28.
Even prior to the official completion of the vote count, several foreign leaders, including those from Qatar, Libya, Algeria, Hungary, and the Palestinian Authority, extended congratulations to Erdogan on his apparent triumph.