UPDATE: Turkish Presidential Election Proceeds Without Incident

On Sunday, about 64 million Turkish citizens turn out for a runoff election to elect president between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, neither of whom got over 50 percent of the vote in the primary round held on May 14. Below are the main events as they happen.

RELATED:

Türkiye: President Erdoğan Cast Ballot in Runoff

* Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu is confident of his victory. The leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) voted in Ankara. From the capital of Türkiye, he expressed his hope that the results of this runoff will be favorable for him.

“I invite all citizens to cast their vote… I trust our nation’s common sense,” Kilicdaroglu said, adding that democracy will definitely prevail in this European country after today’s elections.

In the first round, the CHP candidate achieved 44.9 percent of the vote, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan achieved 49.5 percent of the vote.

* Authorities confirm absence of major incidents on election day. Until after noon on Sunday, the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) indicated to the press that the runoff was proceeding as expected. It also mentioned that the first official results of the presidential elections will be announced starting at 6:00 p.m. local time.

TeleSUR correspondent in Türkiye Yunus Soner reported that Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu are expected to address their supporters after the end of election day.

In the event that President Erdogan emerges victorious, his address to the Turkish people will be made from the balcony of the Presidency in Ankara.

Source link