The election board announced that Mr. Erdogan won 49.24% of the vote, Mr. Kilicdaroglu received 45.07% and the third candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan, received 5.28%. With no one winning a majority of the vote, a second round of voting will be held on May 28 between the two leading candidates, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Kilcdaroglu.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (right) and third-placed candidate Sinan Ogan. Photo: AP
Mr Ogan, a former academic backed by an anti-migrant party, could be the key to the upcoming election.
Speaking to Turkish media earlier this week, Ogan listed conditions for his support, including a tough stance against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and a clear plan to send back the millions of refugees currently in the country, including nearly 3.7 million Syrians.
The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency in southeastern Türkiye and is considered a terrorist organization by that country as well as the United States and the European Union.
On Thursday, Mr Kilicdaroglu appealed to nationalist voters to back him, promising to send back millions of refugees and rejecting any possibility of peace talks with Kurdish fighters.
Meanwhile, Mr. Erdogan said he would not accede to Mr. Ogan's demands. "I am not a person who likes to negotiate in this way. It is the people who will choose their leader," he told CNN.
However, on Friday, a surprise meeting between Mr Erdogan and Mr Ogan took place at the Istanbul office. No statement was issued after the meeting, which lasted nearly an hour.
Hoang Nam (according to AP)
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