President Erdogan calls on Turkish voters to support him in the second round

Mr Erdogan received 49.5% of the vote on Sunday. A majority of 50.1% would have secured him immediate election without a second round. His main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, received 45% of the vote.

President Erdogan calls on voters to vote in second round photo 1 — People walk past a poster of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: DPA

Investors are betting that Mr Erdogan, 69, will continue to lead the country for another five-year term and continue his unorthodox economic policies.

In a parliamentary election also held on Sunday, the People's Alliance, which includes Mr Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) and allied nationalist and Islamist parties, won 322 of the 600 seats in the new legislature.

Mr Erdogan said Turkey needed harmony between parliament and the president to have an effective government . "Harmony between the executive and the legislature will help develop our country," he said in an interview.

The AKP won 10 of the 11 provinces devastated by February’s earthquake in southeastern Türkiye, according to exit polls, with analysts saying the results showed Mr Erdogan’s promise to rebuild cities had successfully reassured voters.

For his part, Mr. Erdogan’s opponent, Mr. Kilicdaroglu, sought to create a positive turn. “Signals that people want change are coming from the ballots,” Mr. Kilicdaroglu said, referring to Mr. Erdogan’s failure to win in the first round as he has in the past two decades.

But many of his supporters also doubt Mr Kilicdaroglu will have a chance of winning in the second round. Mr Kilicdaroglu, 74, has urged younger voters to consider the cost of living crisis as Mr Erdogan has insisted on cutting interest rates, causing the lira to slide and inflation to soar.

The election is being closely watched by the US, Europe and its neighbours. Mr Erdogan has also strengthened ties with Russia, straining Ankara’s traditional alliance with the US.

Earlier opinion polls showed Mr Erdogan trailing Mr Kilicdaroglu, but the result beat expectations on Sunday.

Mr Kilicdaroglu and his coalition want to restore the parliamentary system of government and eliminate the powerful executive presidency that Mr Erdogan helped push through.

Quoc Thien (according to Reuters)

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