Turkey appeared set for a runoff election later this month after one of the biggest challenges to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two decades of leadership in Turkish politics failed to yield an obvious winner.
Early results showed neither Erdogan nor opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu reached the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff with more than 91% of votes counted, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing remarks Monday from the head of Turkey’s election authority that Erdogan won 49.49% of votes with Kilicdaroglu claiming 44.7%. Both Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu have said they are prepared to accept a runoff.
Financial markets reacted negatively against uncertainty, with Turkish stocks sliding and the lira losing ground against the U.S. dollar. The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index shed 3% with the lira dropping 0.4% relative to the greenback, touching a record low.
Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics since he became prime minister in 2003, later consolidating power in the presidency after a 2017 referendum. A potential leadership shakeup in Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that has maintained ties to both Ukraine and Russia, will have important geopolitical implications.
A confirmed runoff election would plunge Turkey into two weeks of renewed campaigning frenzy as Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu vie for a majority. Investors should brace for more volatility in the lira, a commonly traded global currency that has already lagged almost 5% against the dollar in 2023.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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