Turkey votes: Early unofficial results put Erdogan in lead

Early results from Turkey’s national election on Sunday showed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a solid lead after around 47% of ballot boxes were counted, the Turkish state-run news agency said.

Erdogan had 52.2% of the vote, compared to 41.9% garnered by main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Faik Oztrak, a spokesman for Kilicdaroglu’s Republican People's Party, cautioned the early returns were preliminary and said the “picture is extremely positive” for the opposition.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey as prime minister or president since 2003.

Pre-election polling suggested he faced the toughest re-election battle of his two decades leading the NATO member country.

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