Turkey set for historic run-off vote after Erdogan falls just short of majority

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey braced Monday for its first election runoff after a night of high drama showed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan edging ahead of his secular rival but failing to secure a first-round win.

Erdogan sounded triumphant as he emerged before a sea of supporters shortly after midnight to proclaim himself ready to lead the nation for another five years.

Almost complete results from Turkey’s most important election of its post-Ottoman era showed Erdogan — in power since 2003 and undefeated in more than a dozen national votes — falling just short of the 50-percent threshold needed to win. READ MORE