Turkey Likely Heading to Run-off Vote After Closely Fought Election

By Staff, Agencies

Turkey is heading to a presidential elections runoff after the main rivaling candidates failed to attain the 50% mark +1 of voter support.

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Justice and Development AKP ruling party landed 49.34% of votes, Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the opposition's coalition the Republican People's Party CHP was able to garner 45% after more than 98% of the votes were counted.

The run-off elections, scheduled on May 28, do not require a 50% mark, and the candidate with the most votes is declared as Turkey's president.

The preliminary voter turnout in the presidential and legislative elections on Sunday exceeded 88% at home and 45% overseas, Turkish state news agency TRT reported.

A combined total of over 64.1 million voters are eligible to vote both in the country and abroad, including around 4.9 million who will vote for the first time in Turkey. The number of imprisoned voters is 53,172.

Some 973 districts and 1,094 district election boards held a total of 191,885 ballot boxes to elect a new president and fresh members of parliament, who will serve a term of five years.