Turkey election runoff 2023 live news: Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu?

Turks will be voting in a run-off to elect a president for a five-year term.
In the first round of voting on May 14, Recep Tayyip Erdogan got 49.5 percent of support. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the main opposition challenger, received 44.9 percent.Rivals vie for eight million who did not vote in first round
Observers have expected a large turnout in the run-off after an impressive 88.8 percent of around 64 million eligible voters went to the ballots in the first round.

Erdogan won 49.5 percent of the ballots, leading with 2.5 million votes, against Kilicdaroglu who got 44.9 percent of the votes.

Both candidates now have their eyes on the eight million citizens who did not vote in the first round, but could tip the balance if they vote this time.Turkish presidential run-off leaves Syrians with uncertain future
As Turks head to the polls for a presidential run-off, millions of Syrian refugees in the country are watching anxiously, uncertain about how the outcome could shape their future.

Immigration has been a central issue in the elections. The campaign has seen several opposition politicians pledging to expel refugees and migrants while the government has highlighted its plans to press ahead with what it calls “voluntarily” repatriations of Syrians.

The situation has left many Syrians in Turkey deeply worried about their future in the country.

“I don’t know what will happen after the election,” said Habib, 23, whose name has been changed to protect his identity.

“They [politicians] say they want to send all Syrians back. We all suffer from anxiety in this period,” said the man who was displaced eight years ago by Syria’s war and currently resides in Istanbul.First ever run-off election in Turkey under way
Turks heading to the polls to cast their ballots have taken part in the country’s first-ever run-off to elect a president.

Kilicdaroglu got 44.9 percent in the first round against 49.5 percent for Erdogan, reflecting solid support for the incumbent despite a deep cost-of-living crisis and polls that had shown Kilicdaroglu in the lead.

Pollsters later pointed to an unexpected surge in nationalist support at the ballot box to explain the result.

Erdogan has said a vote for him will ensure stability after his alliance secured a parliamentary majority.

Voter turnout larger than first-round elections: Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu
As Turks head out to the polls, the voter turnout appears to be larger than the first round, according to Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu in Istanbul.

Lines are moving fairly quickly as the process to vote in the runoffs is much easier than the first, she said, with Turks choosing just a president, and have a choice between just two candidates.

In May 14’s vote, the elections were a choice between three candidates, in addition to parliamentary elections, said Koseoglu, and lines moved more slowly as people struggled to fill out the larger ballot papers.

“[People] have an appetite” to vote, she added.