With 99.9% of the ballots counted, Erdogan has 49.34% of the votes, while Kilicdaroglu has 45%.
Earlier in the night, the head of Turkiye’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) Ahmet Yener said that Erdogan, who was nominated by the ruling Justice and Development Party and its coalition partner, the Nationalist Movement Party, had 49.49% of the votes with 91.9% of the ballots processed. Kilicdaroglu had 44.79%.
Erdogan told his supporters in Ankara late on Sunday night that he still had hope of winning in the first round with over 50%. Erdogan said his rival was behind him by 2.6 million votes, while the ruling party’s coalition was winning in the parliamentary election.
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Turkiye on Sunday. If none of the candidates in the presidential race secures over 50% of the votes, the election will head into a runoff, scheduled for May 28.