With Türkiye’s Presidential Election Going to a Runoff, What Comes Next?

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye, May 15, 2023. (AFP)
Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye, May 15, 2023. (AFP)
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With Türkiye’s Presidential Election Going to a Runoff, What Comes Next?

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye, May 15, 2023. (AFP)
Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds a flag of his portrait outside the AK Party headquarters after polls closed in Türkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Türkiye, May 15, 2023. (AFP)

Close, but not close enough. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the most votes in a weekend presidential election but could not claim victory because he failed to get the majority support required for an outright win.

Preliminary results showed the longtime leader had 49.5% of the vote. His main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, garnered 45%, according to Turkish election authorities. A third candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan, received 5.2%.

The election is being followed internationally to see the future direction of Türkiye. The strategically located NATO member has cultivated warm relations with Russia, become less secular and tilted toward authoritarianism under Erdogan.

Kilicdaroglu has promised to reorient the country as a democracy and is expected to adopt a more pro-Western stance.

The Supreme Electoral board said Monday the results mean Erdogan, 69, and Kilicdaroglu, 74, will compete in a runoff election on May 28. Here’s a look at Türkiye’s two-round presidential election system and what happens next:

How does the two-round election work?

Erdogan, who has strengthened his grip on NATO member Türkiye since first coming to national power as prime minister in 2003, succeeded in changing the country's system of government from a parliamentary democracy to an executive presidency through a 2017 referendum.

The change, which took effect after the 2018 elections, abolished the office of the prime minister and concentrated broad powers in the president's hands.

It was therefore decided that the head of both state and government needed to receive more than 50% of the vote to secure office in a single election. Since neither Erdogan nor Kilicdaroglu did that Sunday, the two front-runners must face each other again in two weeks, while the third candidate is out of the running.

France and some other European countries use a similar process for electing presidents.

What part does the third candidate play?

Ogan, 55, a former academic who was backed by an anti-migrant party, could become the kingmaker in the runoff now that he's out of the race. He hasn't yet endorsed either of the remaining candidates.

Turkish nationalists disgruntled with Erdogan but reluctant to vote for Kilicdaroglu, who had support from a six-party alliance and the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, or HDP, appear to have accounted for most of Ogan's votes.

The far right accuses the pro-Kurdish party of having links to outlawed Kurdish militants - an accusation the party denies. Ogan has said he would not back any candidate "who doesn’t keep a distance with the terror organization."

Soner Cagaptay, an expert on Türkiye at the Washington Institute think tank, said most Ogan voters are likely to go for Erdogan whether or not their original candidate endorses the Turkish leader.

"It's certain that Erdogan is going to sweep the second round," Cagaptay said.

What are the likely scenarios?

Erdogan performed better than expected in the election held Sunday, and the People’s Alliance led by his party retained a majority in Türkiye’s 600-seat parliament. Analysts say that gives the Turkish leader an edge in the runoff because voters may want to avoid having different factions running the executive and legislative branches.

Erdogan said as much early Monday.

"We have no doubt that the preference of our nation, which gave the majority in parliament to the People’s Alliance, will be in favor of trust and stability in the (second round)," the president told his supporters in Ankara.

Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said he was certain of a second-round victory, but Sunday's results indicate he could struggle to attract enough votes even though he was the candidate of the six-party Nation Alliance.

What to expect before the runoff

Analysts suggest the campaigning before the runoff could be brutal. Before Sunday's vote, Erdogan disparaged the opposition as being supported by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. At one rally, he showed hundreds of thousands of his supporters a faked video purporting to show a PKK commander singing an opposition campaign song.

"Information control was President Erdogan’s greatest asset in running and entering the election season. And I think his media loyal to him has successfully framed HDP support to Kilicdaroglu as ‘terrorist support,’" Cagaptay said. "That helped scare away some nationalist voters."

Kilicdaroglu said Erdogan had failed to get the result he wanted despite slinging "slanders and insults" toward the opposition.

Analysts also warned of economic turbulence in the next two weeks. Markets were watching the elections to see if Türkiye would return to more traditional economic policies, as promised by Kilidaroglu. Experts say Erdogan’s economic policies, which ran contrary to mainstream theories, led to the country's currency crisis and soaring inflation.

The Turkish stock exchange, Borsa Istanbul BIST 100 index, dropped 6.2% at Monday’s opening before recovering some ground.

"Türkiye’s political destiny remains on hold until the second round, scheduled for 28 May," Bartosz Sawicki, market analyst at financial services firm Conotoxia, wrote in emailed comments. "(The outcome will) determine whether Türkiye will continue down the path of unorthodox, imbalance-increasing policies or whether, after 20 years, it will return to a path of reform and recovery using methods more in line with economic textbooks."



Israeli Plan to Seize Gaza Alarms Many: 'What's Left for You to Bomb?'

Displaced Palestinians snatch bread loaves distributed by a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 5, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Displaced Palestinians snatch bread loaves distributed by a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 5, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Israeli Plan to Seize Gaza Alarms Many: 'What's Left for You to Bomb?'

Displaced Palestinians snatch bread loaves distributed by a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 5, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Displaced Palestinians snatch bread loaves distributed by a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 5, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away.

“What’s left for you to bomb?” asked Moaz Kahlout, a displaced man from Gaza City who said many resort to GPS to locate the rubble of homes wiped out in the war.

Israeli officials said Monday that Cabinet ministers approved the plan to seize Gaza and remain in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time — news that came hours after the military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

Details of the plan were not formally announced, and its exact timing and implementation were not clear. It may be another measure by Israel to try to pressure Hamas into making concessions in ceasefire negotiations.

The war began after Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Israel says 59 captives remain in Gaza, about 35 of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

“They destroyed us, displaced us and killed us,” said Enshirah Bahloul, a woman from the southern city of Khan Younis. “We want safety and peace in this world. We do not want to remain homeless, hungry, and thirsty.”

Some Israelis are also opposed to the plan. Hundreds of people protested outside the parliament Monday as the government opened for its summer session. One person was arrested.

Families of hostages held in Gaza are afraid of what an expanded military operation or seizure could mean for their relatives.

“I don’t see the expansion of the war as a solution — it led us absolutely nowhere before. It feels like déjà vu from the year ago,” said Adi Alexander, father of Israeli-American Edan Alexander, a soldier captured in the Oct. 7 attack.

The father is pinning some hopes on US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East, set for next week. Israeli leaders have said they don't plan to expand the operation in Gaza until after Trump’s visit, leaving the door open for a possible deal. Trump isn't expected to visit Israel, but he and other American officials have frequently spoken about Edan Alexander, the last American-Israeli held in Gaza who is still believed to be alive.

Moshe Lavi, the brother-in-law of Omri Miran, 48, the oldest hostage still believed to be alive, said the family was concerned about the plan.

“We hope it’s merely a signal to Hamas that Israel is serious in its goal to dismantle its governmental and military capabilities as a leverage for negotiations, but it’s unclear whether this is an end or a means,” he said.

Meanwhile, every day, dozens of Palestinians gather outside a charity kitchen that distributes hot meals to displaced families in southern Gaza. Children thrust pots or buckets forward, pushing and shoving in a desperate attempt to bring food to their families.

“What should we do?” asked Sara Younis, a woman from the southernmost city of Rafah, as she waited for a hot meal for her children. “There’s no food, no flour, nothing.”

Israel cut off Gaza from all imports in early March, leading to dire shortages of food, medicine and other supplies. Israel says the goal is to pressure Hamas to free the remaining hostages.

Aid organizations have warned that malnutrition and hunger are becoming increasingly prevalent in Gaza. The United Nations says the vast majority of the population relies on aid.

Aid groups have expressed concerns that gains to avert famine made during this year's ceasefire have been diminishing.

Like most aid groups in Gaza, Tikeya has run out of most food and has cooked almost exclusively pasta for the past two weeks.

Nidal Abu Helal, a displaced man from Rafah who works at the charity, said that the group is increasingly concerned that people, especially children, will die of starvation.

“We’re not afraid of dying from missiles," he said. "We’re afraid that our children will die of hunger in front of us.”