Turkey is headed for a runoff election; early results

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Western-leaning opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, will face off in a runoff on May 28. Preliminary official results show that neither candidate has managed to win enough support in the first round to avoid a runoff. Outsider independent candidate Sinan Ogan, who was a distant third with 5.2%, is now poised to become a kingmaker in the runoff. Erdogan said he was ready for a second round and that “throughout our political life, without exception, we have always respected the decision of the national will.” Kilicdaroglu accused the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party of stalling the count and “blocking the will of Türkiye” by demanding recounts and thorough verification of the results. Outsider independent candidate Sinan Ogan, who was a distant third with 5.2%, is now poised to become a kingmaker in the runoff.