Post by sevenofnine on May 14, 2023 11:13:45 GMT -5
Yeah going be really closee!!
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hope for a third term hangs in the balance after strong competition from main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The outcome could significantly alter Turkey's future. DW has the latest.
Turks were voting in presidential and parliamentary elections
CHP's Kemal Kilicdaroglu has a slight lead over Erdogan in opinion surveys
All three remaining presidential contenders have now voted
Polls closed at 5 p.m. local time (1400 UTC)
Runoff elections could be held May 28 if no majority winner in first round
Turkish voting stations closed following in a knife-edge election that could end President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's two-decade rule and put the mostly Muslim nation on a more secular course.
Polling stations officially closed at 5 p.m. (1400 UTC) after nine hours of voting.
Reporting of results before 9 p.m. is not permitted, so the first indications of the outcome may not emerge until late evening.
However, election authorities may decide to allow local media to report on results earlier.
Opinion polls have given Erdogan's main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead.
Two polls on Friday showed him above the 50% threshold needed to win outright.
If neither wins more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on May 28.
What some of the voters are saying
The campaign ahead of Sunday's pivotal elections has been characteristically divisive. As voters cast their ballots, the split was apparent in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, of which Erdogan was mayor from 1994 to 1998.
"I see these elections as a choice between democracy and dictatorship. I chose democracy and I hope that my country chooses democracy. I have hope that Kilicdaroglu will win," 64-year-old retired health sector worker Ahmet Kalkan told the Reuters news agency.
However, long-time Erdogan supporter Mehmet Akif Kahraman said he was still backing the incumbent. "There has never been a change in my thoughts because the future is here. God willing, Turkey will be a world leader," said Kahraman.
Mehmet Ali Fakioglu, who was made homeless by the earthquake that hit
www.dw.com/en/polls-close-in-knife-edge-turkey-election-live-updates/a-65615891
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hope for a third term hangs in the balance after strong competition from main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The outcome could significantly alter Turkey's future. DW has the latest.
Turks were voting in presidential and parliamentary elections
CHP's Kemal Kilicdaroglu has a slight lead over Erdogan in opinion surveys
All three remaining presidential contenders have now voted
Polls closed at 5 p.m. local time (1400 UTC)
Runoff elections could be held May 28 if no majority winner in first round
Turkish voting stations closed following in a knife-edge election that could end President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's two-decade rule and put the mostly Muslim nation on a more secular course.
Polling stations officially closed at 5 p.m. (1400 UTC) after nine hours of voting.
Reporting of results before 9 p.m. is not permitted, so the first indications of the outcome may not emerge until late evening.
However, election authorities may decide to allow local media to report on results earlier.
Opinion polls have given Erdogan's main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead.
Two polls on Friday showed him above the 50% threshold needed to win outright.
If neither wins more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on May 28.
What some of the voters are saying
The campaign ahead of Sunday's pivotal elections has been characteristically divisive. As voters cast their ballots, the split was apparent in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, of which Erdogan was mayor from 1994 to 1998.
"I see these elections as a choice between democracy and dictatorship. I chose democracy and I hope that my country chooses democracy. I have hope that Kilicdaroglu will win," 64-year-old retired health sector worker Ahmet Kalkan told the Reuters news agency.
However, long-time Erdogan supporter Mehmet Akif Kahraman said he was still backing the incumbent. "There has never been a change in my thoughts because the future is here. God willing, Turkey will be a world leader," said Kahraman.
Mehmet Ali Fakioglu, who was made homeless by the earthquake that hit
www.dw.com/en/polls-close-in-knife-edge-turkey-election-live-updates/a-65615891
!!
