Erdogan's rival in the Turkish presidential election: "We are in the lead"

Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said on Sunday he was ahead of President Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential election, although state media suggested Erdogan was ahead in preliminary results.

Opposition Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in remarks to television channels, called on Turks not to follow the election results from Anadolu Agency.

Preliminary results, published by Anadolu Agency and quoted by Turkish media, showed Erdogan winning 52.55 percent of the vote to Kılıçdaroğlu's 41.55 percent, although the gap narrowed as the tally continued.

Kilicdaroglu wrote on Twitter: "We are in the lead."

TRT news channel reported the results, citing Anadolu Agency, based on a count of 41.83 percent of the ballot boxes.

The initial results were expected to be in Erdogan's favor because the first censuses usually come from conservative rural areas.