ANKARA: Preliminary results from Turkiye’s presidential election on Sunday showed Tayyip Erdogan ahead with 59.47% compared to opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu with 34.79%, though pollsters expected the gap to narrow in the tight contest.

HaberTurk and other Turkish broadcasters said the results, given less than two hours after polling stations closed, were based on 9.1% of the ballot boxes counted.

Erdogan’s ‘patient’ rival Kilicdaroglu rides high before vote

The head of Turkiye’s High Election Board earlier lifted a publication ban and said to wait until it announces official tentative results later.

Pre-election polls had given the edge to Kilicdaroglu, who pledges to roll back much of Erdogan’s two-decade legacy.