Erdogan ahead as votes being counted

With 80% of the votes for a new Turkish president counted, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is leading the polls with about 50%, Turkish daily ‘Zaman’ reports.

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the joint candidate of five opposition parties, including the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), was trailing with about 40%, while the third candidate, Selahattin Demirtaş, of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), appeared to have close to 9% of the votes.

A second round will be held on August  24 if none of the candidates manage to get more than 50% of the votes.