May 14, 2023 Turkey election news

Our live coverage of Turkey’s election has ended for the evening. Read the latest here.

Turkey’s presidential election appears to heading to a runoff vote as preliminary results showed neither President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor his main rival looked to have secured the majority of votes need to win.

State-run Anadolu news agency reported projections based on 97.95% of the votes counted, showing Erdogan having 49.34% of votes, compared to 44.99% for the main opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Here’s the latest:

Turkey's opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu makes a statement to the press in Ankara, Turkey, on May 15.

Turkey’s opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said he would welcome a runoff election, as the preliminary results of Sunday’s vote showed neither he nor President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had yet received the majority needed to win.

If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, they will go to a runoff — which would be a first for Erdogan.

Erdogan leads with 49.49% of the vote, with Kilicdaroglu on 44.79% after 91.93% of ballots were counted, the head of Turkey’s Supreme Election Council said early Monday.

But Kilicdaroglu remained upbeat about his chances of winning.

Ahmet Yener, chief of Turkey's Supreme Election Council, speaks to the media in Ankara, Turkey on May 15.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading the polls with 91.93% of the votes counted so far, the head of Turkey’s Supreme Election Council said early Monday.

In a televised speech, council chief Ahmet Yener said Erdogan had received 49.49% of the vote, while his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, received 44.79%.

The third presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist allied with Erdogan, has received 5.29%, Yener said.

Votes are still being counted, Yener emphasized.

If no candidate wins a majority, they will go to a second vote — which would be a first for Erdogan.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that his lead in the polls will “increase even more” as the final votes are tallied.

Erdogan is facing the biggest challenge yet in his two decades in power after millions voted in a landmark election Sunday, with preliminary results indicating he may be forced into a runoff.

State-run Anadolu news agency’s latest figures show Erdogan’s lead at 49.52% and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, at 44.76%, with 95% of the vote counted. If neither wins a majority, they will go to a second vote — which would be a first for Erdogan.

Erdogan said early Monday they don’t know yet “if the presidential election is over in the first round” but said he remained confident about avoiding a runoff.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech at the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, early May 15.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed early Monday to be leading the vote “by a wide margin” even as preliminary results indicated he may be forced into a runoff.

State-run Anadolu news agency’s latest figures show Erdogan’s lead at 49.52% and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, at 44.76%, with 95% of the vote counted. If neither wins a majority, they will go to a second vote — which would be a first for Erdogan.

Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wave flags outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on May 15.

The third presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, took to Twitter on Sunday night to cast doubt over overseas votes and warn the election council to prevent “manipulation.”

Ogan, who according to preliminary results currently has about 5% of the vote, could be a kingmaker if the election goes to a runoff.

“We have heard that some manipulations were carried out in the overseas vote-counting processes. Vote counting is not done in a healthy environment. I warn the YSK [Supreme Election Council]. Take the necessary measures immediately and ensure that the vote-counting processes are carried out quickly. In addition, we will not allow a fait accompli with the manipulation of foreign votes. Do not stress the environment. This is up to the second round,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, Turkey, on March 29.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fighting for his political survival, as preliminary results indicate he may be forced into a runoff.

State-run Anadolu news agency’s latest figures show Erdogan’s lead at 49.52% and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, at 44.76%, with 95% of the vote counted. If neither wins a majority, they will go to a second vote – which would be a first for Erdogan.

The third presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist allied with Erdogan, currently has 5.28% of the vote, according to Anadolu. This could make him a potential kingmaker in the runoff.

The head of Turkey’s Supreme Election Council has just announced 87.13% of the votes have been counted, adding that there have been delays tallying the votes cast abroad.

“I would also like to clarify the criticism which has been voiced in the public that foreign votes are counted late. Considering the increase in the number of voters who cast their votes abroad in 2023, according to 2018 data, and the number of parties participating in the 2018 election is 8, and 24 in 2023, it is seen that the delay in the counting of foreign votes is normal. There is no problem in entering the votes in the district election boards.”

President Recep Tayyip ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party has tweeted a video showing scenes of crowds outside their headquarters in Turkey’s capital Ankara with the caption: “The balcony is ready. The nation is waiting for its leader.”

Erdogan is expected to make a speech there shortly.

Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party of demanding recounts and delaying results in opposition strongholds, including in Ankara and Istanbul.

“My dear nation, they are blocking the system with repeated objections at ballots where we have higher votes. For example, there are persistent objections at 300 ballots in Ankara and 783 ballots in Istanbul. There is a ballot with six, and another with 11 objections,” he told reporters in a statement at his party headquarters in Ankara.

Kilicdaroglu called on Erdogan to stop dealing in “perception management,” adding that the opposition will not allow the vote to be a “fait accompli.”

“This is a serious matter. Let the votes come in and the result to be known as soon as possible. The country can no longer tolerate uncertainty. Do not be afraid of the nation’s will,” he said.

He also urged election officials to act responsibly, and not let the process be stalled.

“I repeat: Do not block this nation’s will. I would like to call on the democracy workers in the field. Do not leave the ballots and election councils. We are here until every vote has been counted,” he said.

From left, Mansur Yavas, Mayor of Ankara, and Ekrem Imamoglu, Mayor of Istanbul, hold a press conference at the Republican People's Party (CHP) headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on May 14.

The opposition mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas, has said he expects Kemal Kilicdaroglu to finish ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“According to our data, the ratio of officially signed ballot reports is at 69.67%. Proportionally, Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s vote is 47.7% and Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vote is at 45.8%,” Yavas, a senior member of Kilicdaroglu’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), told a news conference in the party headquarters in Ankara. “We will wait for the result, it is our duty to seek justice for even one vote.”

Yavas will serve as vice president if Kilicdaroglu’s six-party Nation Alliance wins.

Turkey’s electoral council, which will announce the final vote, has said that 71.64% of ballots have been counted in the country, and 18.67% from those who voted abroad. The council’s chairman, Ahmet Yener, said there was “no disruption or delay at the moment.”

The music came to an abrupt halt at a rally outside the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters in Istanbul on Sunday evening, as soon as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s tally slipped below the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff.

AK Party supporters pointed at the screen displaying the preliminary results reported by state-run Anadolu news agency. A hushed silence fell over the crowd that just hours earlier was jubilant over early reports that showed Erdogan with a comfortable lead.

Still the mood was defiant. “We’re come back with even more strength in the second round,” said Nuray Ekici, a 31-year-old teacher. “We will never abandon him.”

Another man, Ismail Boyaci, 53, said, “Our mood may have changed but Erdogan’s leadership won’t change. We will continue to stand upright.”

Ahmet Yener, chairman of Turkey’s Supreme Election Council, which will announce the final figures, has said that it has so far entered just over 47% of domestic votes cast in the election and 12.6% of votes from abroad into its system.

During a statement outside the council’s headquarters he also rejected allegations from the opposition that it was delaying publishing results.

“The results coming from polling stations are sent to District Election Councils and from there to Provincial Election Councils. This is how the data is entered into the system,” he added.

That could mean there is still some time before we get an official result.

Supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan look at early presidential election results displayed on a screen AK Party headquarters in Istanbul on May 14.

The gap between the two leading presidential candidates is continuing to narrow as more votes from Turkey’s big cities – which tend to favor opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu – pour in.

State news agency Anadolu is reporting that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vote has dropped to 49.86% – below the 50% needed to avoid a runoff – ahead of Kilicdaroglu’s 44.38%, with 90% of votes counted.

As the numbers shifted on screens at the AK Party headquarters in Istanbul, the music stopped and the mood darkened.

Soli Ozel, professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, said the race looked likely to go to a runoff

“Over 60% Turkey’s population live in 11 cities. 20% – thereabouts 18 to 19% of Turkey’s population live in Istanbul. Istanbul is a very contested city which the opposition actually won back in 2019,” Ozel told CNN.

“So, we are in the clouds, if you will. But it does look, like I must say, that we will have to go to a second round in the presidential since the parliamentary election is a one-round election.”

Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu has posted a tweet suggesting that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vote share, which started the night at 60%, has now dropped to below 50%.

He urged the country’s electoral board, the Supreme Election Council, to stay alert and stick by their posts to provide data entry throughout the evening.

“The fiction which started at 60 percent has now dropped below 50. Ballot observers and election board officials should never leave their places. We will not sleep tonight, my people. I warn the Supreme Election Council, you have to provide data entry in the provinces,” he said. 

Election workers count ballots at a polling station inside a school in Istanbul on May 14.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked his supporters on Sunday “to stay at the ballot boxes, no matter what until the results are officially finalized.”

“The fact that the 14 May elections took place in the form of a great feast of democracy with peace and quiet is an expression of the democratic maturity of our Turkey,” Erdogan said on Twitter.

“I congratulate all my citizens who voted in the name of democracy and took part in the election work, and I express my gratitude to each and every one of them,” he added. 

The third presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist who was polling in the single digits, said on Sunday night that he believed the race was likely to go to a runoff.

“Turkish nationalists and Kemalists are the key to this election,” he said. “Those who attacked us in the last two days after Muharrem Ince was forced out of the elections with various pressures, accused us unjustly and attempted to lynch us should have a lot of lessons to be learned from this political picture!” Ogan was referring to Muharrem Ince, who pulled out of the race on Thursday after what he called a “slander campaign” against him.

With about 85% of ballots counted, Ogan, who is an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had only about 5% of the vote, according to preliminary results reported by state-run news agency Anadolu. That support could make Ogan a potential kingmaker in the runoff.

Feyza Sonmezocak Tekin, 29, teacher.

There were mixed emotions in the crowd gathered outside the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters in Istanbul, with some Erdogan supporters fearful he might lose, while others were certain he would prevail.

She threw up the four-finger “Rabaa” salute, closely associated with Erdogan. The president originally used the gesture in a show of solidarity with followers of Egypt’s deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsy in 2013, after security forces crushed protest camps of his Muslim Brotherhood supporters in a square near Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque. Turkey became one of the fiercest critics of the violence, which left hundreds dead. “Rabaa” means “four” or “the fourth” in Arabic.

“I am afraid. I am worried about him losing. I am worried that someone else will win. I worry because we are Muslims and we wish for someone Muslim to to be our president,” said Seda Yavuz.

“I trust the Turkish people. I trust that he is going to win,” Gozde Demirci said. Pointing to her headscarf, she added: “This is freedom. I have this freedom because of him (Erdogan). They (opposition) don’t want this. They don’t want freedom.”

As votes continue being counted for Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections, analysts say it’s still early to call.

“I think it is still too early to call,” the Managing Director of the Istanbul Research Center, Can Selcuki, told CNN. 

“We are in a strange situation because there isn’t just enough data. Anadolu news agency, the official agency that has the monopoly over the official results, basically, seems to have stopped at some point … It is looking like a war of nerves at this point,” Selcuki added.

Asli Aydintasbas, a Turkish policy expert and fellow at the Brookings Institution, cast doubt on the opposition sealing the election on Sunday.