#FiNe Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 Turkey's long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains ahead in presidential elections with 94% of votes counted, state media report. Mr Erdogan has 53%, while his closest rival, Muharrem Ince, is on 31%. If Mr Erdogan is confirmed with more than 50% of the final vote, he will be declared the winner and avoid the need for a second round of voting. Opposition parties have raised concerns about vote-rigging and electoral fraud. As well as the presidency, voters are also choosing members of parliament. Mr Erdogan's party is ahead in that poll. Turkey's elections in 100 and 500 words Erdogan: Turkey's pugnacious president Reality Check: The numbers behind Turkey's crackdown With 93% of the votes for parliament counted, the president's AK Party leads with 43% of the votes, the state news agency Anadolu reports. The main opposition CHP is on 23%. Crucially, the pro-Kurdish HDP looks set to reach the 10% threshold and enter parliament. This may make it harder for Mr Erdogan's party and its ally the MHP to reach a majority, although currently they are on course to do so. Voter turnout is high, at almost 87%, the state broadcaster says. Initial results were thought likely to favour the AK Party, so Mr Erdogan's lead is expected to decrease as more votes are counted. His opponent accused the state news agency of being mani[CENSORED]tive by releasing results from pro-Erdogan areas first. And, as the BBC's Mark Lowen points out, the opposition is disputing the agency's reports of how many ballot boxes have been opened: Turkey remains under a state of emergency imposed in the aftermath of a failed coup in July 2016. Who is standing for president? These elections were originally scheduled for November 2019 but were brought forward by Mr Erdogan. He is seeking a second term as president, and would govern under a new constitution which grants the president new powers. Mr Erdogan was prime minister for 11 years before becoming president in 2014. Should he win, Mr Ince has promised to push back what he characterised as a slide into authoritarian rule under Mr Erdogan. But his opponent accused the former physics teacher of not having the skills to lead. Around 60 million Turks were eligible to take part in Sunday's dual polls. In all, there were six candidates on the presidential ballot. If no one candidate crosses the 50% threshold in an outright win, the top two will face off in a second-round vote on 8 July. Is the vote likely to be fair? Security was tight at polling stations. Ahead of the vote, concerns were raised about potential voter intimidation and electoral fraud. Turkey's election commission has already said it will investigate alleged irregularities in Urfa province, on the southern border with Syria. Mr Ince said he would be spending the night at the electoral commission's headquarters in Ankara to ensure a fair count. In a tweet, he asked election observers not to leave the ballot boxes. Mr Ince said the commission's system reports 37% of boxes have been opened, whereas Anadolu says 85% of votes have been counted. Rights activists also say the press is not free to report on all sides. Under Mr Erdogan's rule, the country has become the world's biggest jailer of journalists, according to monitoring groups. What effect will the new constitution have? While the other candidates have rejected the changes, endorsed in endorsed in a tight referendum last year by 51% of voters, Mr Erdogan would start his second term in a turbo-charged version of the job. The job of prime minister would be scrapped and the president would gain new powers, including the ability to directly appoint senior officials. What have been the main election issues? The biggest is the economy. The Turkish lira has tanked and inflation stands at around 11%. Terrorism is another vexed issue, as Turkey faces attacks from Kurdish militants and the jihadists of the Islamic State group.
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