Erdogan is on course for victory in the expected second round

By Elijah J. Magnier:

The final results of Turkey’s parliamentary and presidential elections have confirmed that a run-off will be held on 28 May. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the incumbent president, secured 49.51 per cent of the vote, a margin of less than half a per cent, or about four hundred thousand votes, out of fifty-eight million eligible voters. His main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the centre-left Republican People’s Party (CHP), won 44.88 per cent of the vote, while ultra-nationalist candidate Sinan Ogan took 5.17 per cent. Although President Erdogan won the parliamentary elections, he fell short of a majority among the 600 members of parliament. However, he holds a significant number of seats (321 MPs), which gives him an advantage over the opposition to form a workable coalition and maintain a parliamentary majority by allying with parties with fewer seats and independent candidates. This parliamentary majority will have an impact on the outcome of the second round of the presidential election.