Erdogan leads his rival in the elections after 61% of the boxes were counted

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan advanced over his rival in the Turkish presidential elections, after 61% of the ballot boxes were counted, and the Turkish president recorded a lead in the votes by 51.56%, while his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu advanced in the number of votes, achieving votes at a rate of 42.61%, after counting 61% of the ballot boxes.

Most of Davutoglu's votes came from Turkey's eastern region and periphery on the western side, while Erdogan swept in the central regions, while other contenders for the Turkish presidency were weak.

The head of Turkey's Supreme Election Board had earlier lifted a publication ban, which he had demanded to wait until the council announced the official preliminary results.

Pre-election polls showed Davutoglu, who vowed to roll back many of Erdogan's 20-year policies, but preliminary results showed current Turkish President Erdogan ahead of his rival.