A runoff election will be held in Türkiye on May 28, the country’s Supreme Election Council announced on Monday. Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is currently leading challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu by 49.46% of the vote to 44.79%.
Under Turkish election law, a candidate must pass a threshold of 50% of the vote to win in the first round. Erdogan opened strongly shortly after polls closed on Sunday evening, but his lead was whittled away over the night as counting progressed.
A third candidate, nationalist Sinan Ogan, received 5.2% of the vote, and will be excluded from the runoff. Ogan’s voters are set to prove decisive in the coming showdown between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu.
Both candidates were optimistic when they addressed their respective supporters on Sunday night. “We strongly believe that we will continue to serve our nation for the next five years,” Erdogan told a crowd in Ankara, while Kilicdaroglu urged his followers to stay hopeful, reminding them that “data is still coming in.”