Erdogan, ruling AK Party build comfortable lead in Turkish elections

President's Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party took a comfortable lead in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, according to preliminary partial results, boosting the Erdogan’s hopes of extending his 15-year rule.

The initial results had been expected to give Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted party a strong lead and it was expected to shorten as more votes are tallied across the nation of 81 million people.

But an AK Party official said the party expected Erdogan to win more than the required 50 percent to avoid a second round runoff. An unexpectedly strong showing by the AK Party’s alliance partner, the nationalist MHP, could also mean Erdogan securing the parliamentary majority he seeks to govern freely.

Sunday’s vote ushers in a powerful new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan and backed by a majority of Turks in a 2017 referendum. 

With 70 percent of votes counted in the presidential race, Erdogan had 55 percent, ahead of his closest rival, Muharrem Ince, of the main opposition, secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), on 29 percent, broadcasters said.

In the parliamentary contest, the AK Party had 45 percent and its MHP ally nearly 12 percent, based on 61 percent of votes counted, broadcasters said. The CHP had 21 percent and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) 9.7 percent.

Both the AK Party official and an HDP lawmaker said they expected the HDP to exceed the 10 percent threshold to enter parliament.

Turnout nationwide was high at around 87 percent for both contests, the state broadcaster said.