Turkey prepares for second round of presidential elections for the first time in its history

Turkey on Monday began preparing for its first run-off in the presidential election after a fierce election contest that saw outgoing Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan ahead of rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu without securing enough votes to confirm his victory in the first round.

Erdogan appeared victorious when he appeared to a large crowd of supporters shortly after midnight to announce for himself that he was ready to run in a second round of presidential elections.

The near-complete results of Turkey's most important post-Ottoman election showed that Erdogan, who has ruled since 2003 and has not been defeated in more than 10 national elections, narrowly failed to achieve the required 50 percent plus one vote.

"I believe from the bottom of my heart that we will continue to serve our people in the next five years," he said amid loud chants.

He also announced that his ruling party had won a clear majority in parliament.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the outgoing 69-year-old president received 49.4 percent of the vote, while Kilicdaroglu received 45.0 percent.

The second round of presidential elections for the first time in Turkey's history is officially scheduled to be held on May 28.

Kilicdaroglu's camp initially disputed the results of the vote count and claimed to be in the lead.

But Kilicdaroglu, despite disappointment with the results after leading the polls ahead of the election, vowed to beat Erdogan in the second round.

The CHP leader told reporters that "the will for change in society is above 50 percent."

Turnout is expected to reach 90 percent in the election, which is seen as a referendum on Turkey's longest-ruling leader and his party.

The emergence of Kilicdaroglu and his six-party opposition coalition, the kind of broad coalition that Erdogan has excelled in forming throughout his political career, gives foreign allies and Turkish voters a clear alternative.

But a run-off could give Erdogan enough time in two weeks to regroup.

Kilicdaroglu said after casting his vote in the election in Ankara: "We all miss democracy."

"You will see, God willing, that spring will come to this country," he said.

Kilicdaroglu leads the Republican People's Party (CHP), which was created by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.

Turkey's 64 million registered voters also had to choose members of their parliament across the country of 85 million people with tradition voter turnout.

During the previous presidential election in 2018, Erdogan won the first round with more than 52.5 percent of the vote. Therefore, the prospect of a second round on May 28 in a ballot would be a setback.

Pre-election polls suggested Kilicdaroglu would win the vote of young people, who make up about 10 percent of the electorate, by a margin of error of two to one.