Politics

Turkey poised for run-off vote as Erdogan fails to meet 50% first round threshold

The Turkish president has a lead of more than two million votes, but is likely to face a second round run-off against rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine at the Turkish president’s party headquarters. Picture: Bloomberg

Turkey could head to a run-off vote in an election that is testing Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two decades in power.

Preliminary results on Monday showed the Turkish president with a lead of more than two million votes, but still without enough to avoid a second round on May 28. That would pit him against top rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, who has the backing of the nation’s broadest-ever grouping of opposition parties.

While it’s still possible ...