Presidential elections go to a second round on May 28 as none of the candidates surpass 50%, the head of the Supreme Election Council announced on May 15.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took 49.5 percent of Sunday’s vote, with his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, getting 44.89 percent, the Council said.
As neither secured more than 50 percent of the vote, they will face off in a second round on May 28, taking Turkey into uncharted territory.
This is only the third time that Turks directly voted for a president, with Erdogan winning both previous elections outright in the first round.
Sinan Ogan from the ATA Alliance, the third candidate, received 5.17 percent, while Muharrem Ince of the Homeland Party – who withdrew from the race just three days before the elections but remained on the ballot – got 0.44 percent.
In particular, the vote for Ogan, kingmaker or spoiler, pushed the race into a run-off.
