Turkey Votes for a President in Second Runoff

Voters in Turkey are going to the polls Sunday to decide who will be the country’s president.

Sunday’s vote is the second runoff vote for the presidency. Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has led Turkey for 20 years, fell just a few points short of winning the election in a first runoff poll earlier this month.

The president’s challenger is 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party alliance and leader of Turkey’s center-left main opposition party.

Kilicdaroglu is facing a formidable candidate in the 69-year-old Erdogan, who was able to survive the presidential election for the runoff despite Turkey’s crippling inflation and the aftermath of a destructive earthquake three months ago.

A victory Sunday for Erdogan would mean the beginning of his third decade as Turkey’s leader. Under his watch, Turkey’s government has become increasingly authoritarian.

Polls indicate Erdogan remains just a few points ahead of his opponent.

Voting ends at 5 p.m. and results are expected within hours.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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