Turkey Braces For Election Runoff

TURKEY – President Tayyip Erdogan led comfortably in the first round of Turkey’s election with his rival facing an uphill struggle to prevent him extending his rule into a third decade in a runoff vote on May 28.

Turkish media reported Erdogan had just below the 5% threshold needed to avoid sending the nato-member country to a second round of a presidential election.

Erdogan’s people’s alliance, comprising his Islamist-rooted AK party and its nationalist partners, also appeared set to win a majority in the new parliament with 321 of the 600 seats, further boosting his chances in the presidential runoff.