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The two main candidates in the Turkish presidential election have said they expect the vote to go to a runoff, as no single candidate achieved the 50% threshold required for a first-round win. With the vast majority of votes counted, incumbent president Rejep Tayyip Erdogan was on just over 49%, with primary challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the opposition CHP achieving about 45% of the vote.

Attention will now turn to the second round, with the opponents battling it out to attract the votes of third candidate Shinan Ogan, and mobilise more eligible voters following a first round which already had a high turnout. Mr Ogan is yet to publicly back either of his opponents ahead of the second round vote.

Bar谋艧 Ert眉rk, International Coordinator for the opposition CHP Youth, told Newsday that it was probably Erdogan's "very well-organised polarisation campaign" that convinced people to vote for him in the last couple of days, but he says the party is "not pessimistic", but is instead very confident about the second round of voting.

(Photo: Woman cast her ballot in Turkey's election in Istanbul, May 14 2023. Credit: Getty Images)

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