Presidential challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu warned against despair and reassured his 24.5 million voters that he will “stand tall” and win the election in the second round of the election on May 28.
In a tweet Kılıçdaroğlu said:
“My dear people, we have been working non-stop since yesterday. Do not despair. I will stand tall. I will tell you what I know about what has happened. Then we will stand up and win this election, all of us together. In the end, only our nation’s word will prevail.”
Later in a video message, the main opposition leader said, “I am here, and you are here too. I swear to God, I will fight until the end. I am here!”
Kılıçdaroğlu’s messages came after the Chairman of the Supreme Board of Elections Ahmet Yener announced officially that neither the challenger Kılıçdaroğlu nor the incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would win the necessary 50 percent majority even if votes unprocessed so far were accounted for, and that the second round was to be held on 28 May.
According to Yener, Erdoğan won 49.51 percent of the vote while Kılıçdaroğlu won 44.88 percent. Unofficial figures announced by the state-run Anadolu Agency show Erdoğan’s People’s Alliance as having won 322 seats in Turkey’s 600-seat parliament, while Kılıçdaroğlu’s Nation Alliance won 213 and the left-wing pro-Kurdish Labour and Freedom Alliance won 65.
