Turkey’s Erdogan forced into second round presidential election runoff

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has failed to secure an outright majority in the presidential election held on Sunday and will head for a runoff against Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Preliminary results show that with more than 90% of the vote counted none of the candidates has surpassed the 50% mark in a very tight election.

Turkey's Supreme Election Council says Erdogan is on 49.49% of the vote, with his rival Kilicdaroglu on 44.79%. Vote counting is continuing but Erdogan has seen his advantage erode gradually throughout the night.

The election has been billed as a pivotal moment since it could bring to an end Erdogan’s 20-year stay in power during which he has increasingly adopted authoritarian rule and eroded modern Turkey’s secular foundations.

Erdogan leads the conservative AKP party, which appears to have secured a majority of seats in parliamentary elections also held on Sunday, despite obtaining fewer seats.

Kilicdaroglu, who hails from the Alevi community, a religious minority often subjected to oppression, was selected by a united opposition to be their candidate. He heads an alliance that has coalesced around the secularist CHP party.

The election comes as the country grapples with high inflation and recovers from devastating earthquakes earlier this year.

If the results are confirmed, Turks will vote again in a run-off to be held on 28 May.

The kingmaker is likely to be Sinan Ogan of the right-wing ATA Alliance, who secured just over 5% of the vote on Sunday. Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu will both be courting his support.