It is heading into a second round of elections that some international media have called the world’s most important election of the year. The election will also have significance for the security situation in Europe, the online newspaper wrote Political.

The chairman of the Electoral Commission, Ahmet Yener, announced the first preliminary results just before 2am on Monday Norwegian time.

As such, figures so far show that neither President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who is referred to as Gandhi Turki, have managed to get the 50 percent needed to avoid a new round of elections on May 28.

An hour and a half earlier, the state news agency Anadolu and the Anka news agency reported the same trend. Erdogan then leads with 49.52 percent while Kilicdaroglu has 44.76 percent based on a tally of 95 percent of ballot boxes, according to Anadolu

Anka reported that at that time Erdogan got 49.29 percent while Kilicdaroglu got 45.01 percent.

Big cities can change the picture

However, the results are uncertain, by narrow margins. Votes from the three largest cities – Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir – could change the election results, reports say BBC.

Istanbul has a population of 16 million, while the capital Ankara and the western city of Izmir have a combined population of 10 million. Of the three, only half the votes had been counted by Sunday evening.

In Izmir and Istanbul it appears that Kilicdaroglu is ahead, while in Ankara Erdogan is barely leading, figures from major cities show.

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War of words about the vote count

Both Erdogan’s camp and challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu have been claiming throughout the night that they are in the lead.

Erdogan accused the opposition of trying to win the election. He claimed the Republican People’s Party (CHP) announced the election results while the counting was still in progress.

– While the election was held in a positive and democratic atmosphere and the counting of votes is still underway, announcing the results quickly means seizing the national will, Erdogan wrote on Twitter.

Kilicdaroglu, for his part, called on the electoral authorities to register all national results.

– We will not sleep tonight, referring to the fact that all ballots must be included in the count.

Appoint clear leadership for Erdogan

State media was the first to report clear leadership for Erdogan. However, Kilicdaroglu’s allies in the opposition quickly resigned, saying no one should trust the results of the state-run Anadolu news agency.

But most of the early votes appear to have come from districts that were overwhelmingly pro-government. Erdogan’s lead narrowed as the number of ballots counted increased, the AFP news agency reported.

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The most important choice in years

The election could give Erdogan another five years in office or unseat him in favor of opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, who has vowed to strengthen democracy in the country.

The election is considered one of the most important in Turkey for many years and the biggest challenge that Erdogan faces in the election.

– I hope, by God, that the counting results are completed tonight both for the future of the country and for Turkey’s democracy, said Erdogan as he voted in Istanbul on Sunday.

Kilicdaroglu hopes to replace Erdogan, who has been in power for 20 years.

– We all long for democracy. But you will see a new spring in this country, God willing, Kilicdaroglu said after casting his vote.

About 64 million people are eligible to vote. Another 3.4 million Turks living abroad may also vote in the election.

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