Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

Sinan Oğan, who entered the election as a non-partisan presidential candidate from Ata Alliance, has emerged as a game changer in the landmark May 14 polls, as he surprisingly took around 5 percent of the vote and stopped his rivals from winning outright.

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.

Turkey's presidential elections appeared headed for a runoff Monday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulling ahead of his chief challenger, but falling short of an outright victory that would extend his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.

Turkey's lira hit a two-month low on Monday and the country's credit default swaps jumped as a tightly-contested presidential election headed towards a runoff vote, while broader emerging market equities snapped a four-day losing streak.

There will likely be a second round of presidential elections in Turkey. Neither of the two candidates - Recep Erdogan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu - do not collect the 50% required for victory.

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."

Turkey headed for a runoff vote after President Tayyip Erdogan led over his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday's election but fell short of an outright majority to extend his 20-year rule of the NATO-member country.

Türkiye has seen one of its most exciting presidential elections with the two strongest candidates current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nation Alliance's candidate and Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in a neck and neck race.

Turkish voters at a polling station in Ankara, Turkey, 14 May 2023, as the country holds simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections. Photo: EPA-EFE/MANUEL DE ALMEIDA

Election polls closed Sunday in Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 20-year leadership of the NATO member country grappling with economic turmoil and the erosion of democratic checks-and-balances hung in the balance after a strong challenge from an opposition candidate.