Ballots across the country are being counted after Türkiye went to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday.
First results from the coastal cities in the country’s south, namely Muğla, Antalya and Mersin indicate that Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu leads the race as of 7:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. GMT).
In Muğla, 29.7% of all votes have been counted as Kılıçdaroğlu leads by 59.6 points, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appears to have 34.9% of votes as of 7.30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. GMT).
In Antalya, 37.3% of all votes have been counted as Kılıçdaroğlu leads by 50.1 points and Erdoğan stands at 42.6%.
In Mersin, 14% of all votes have been counted as Kılıçdaroğlu leads by 52.1 points and Erdoğan stands at 41.9%.
Smaller candidate Sinan Oğan has managed to clinch 4.5% of the votes in Muğla, 6.4% of the votes in Antalya and 5.3% of the votes in Mersin, while another contender Muharrem Ince garnered 0.8% in Muğla, 0.7% in Antalya, 0.6 in Mersin despite dropping out of the race earlier on Thursday.
Despite his withdrawal, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) – Türkiye's election authority – has affirmed the validity of votes for Ince. More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.76 million who have already cast their ballots abroad and 4.9 million first-time voters.
Five multiparty blocs are in the running: the People's Alliance, the Nation Alliance, the Ancestral Alliance, the Labor and Freedom Alliance, and the Union of Socialist Forces Alliance.
