Turkish presidential election

Ballot boxes have been reestablished at Istanbul Airport and customs gates to allow voters living abroad to cast their ballots in the second round of the Turkish presidential election.

The watchdog placed more than 4,600 polling stations at 46 border gates.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed on May 18 that his government will continue to stand by the Feb. 6 earthquake victims.

"I hope we will heal our wounds together with state-nation solidarity. We will not leave our earthquake survivors unattended and will continue to stand by them," he tweeted.

Türkiye's historic presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14 witnessed a high voter turnout at 86.2 percent.

The figure was barely below the 88.2 percent turnout in 2018 when Turkish voters headed to ballot boxes to elect the president and members of the parliament.

Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev has called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate him for the May 14 elections that pledged a majority to Erdoğan-led People's Alliance at the parliament while bringing the presidential race to the second round.

A statement from the president's office informed that Aliyev and Erdoğan spoke over the phone in the early hours of May 15.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's rival vowed Monday to win a runoff election after almost complete results showed neither candidate had secured the required 50 percent of the vote.

"If our nation says second round, we will absolutely win in the second round," Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters. "The will for change in society is higher than 50 percent."

The results show that the incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won 49.39 percent of the votes, and his main rival, Kemal Kılıdaroğlu, won 45 percent, Anadolu Agency reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed hope after voting on May 14 that the outcome of Türkiye's biggest election in generations would be "good for the future of the country".

"My hope to God is that after the counting concludes this evening, the outcome is good for the future of our country, for Turkish democracy," he said. 

• More than 64 million Turkish citizens are eligible to vote in the polls. They will choose between three presidential candidates and 36 parties in 87 electoral districts.
• Voters will decide the fate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP as they face a united democratic opposition.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 13 that he views the elections as a "democracy celebration for our country's future," in his election message. 

Meanwhile, Erdoğan on May 12 defended Russia's Vladimir Putin from allegations of meddling in Turkey's crucial weekend election.

The distribution of the ministries will be made according to the number of deputies the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the İYİ (Good) Party will receive, the latter's chair Meral Akşener has said.