Turkey Heads to Runoff Vote After Hard-Fought Presidential, Parliamentary Polls

(Left) Republican People's Party (CHP) leader and presidential candidate of the main opposition alliance Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks to the media at the Republican People's Party (CHP) headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on May 15, 2023. (Right) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears before supporters at AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on May 15, 2023. Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turkey’s presidential election appears set to be heading to a runoff vote after neither of the two top contenders secured an outright majority in the contentious May 14 voting.

According to Turkey’s official electoral commission, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), secured roughly 49 percent of the vote.