Turkey’s Erdogan on course for historic reelection as president narrowly leads race

TURKEY’S long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is on course to secure another five-year term and is set to triumph in the runoff election. The news of him bagging the lead and possibly achieving his third decade of rule was met by reports of gunfire in the capital of Istanbul. ReutersErdogan is set to scoop the victory in the nailbiting runoff election[/caption] With around 97 per cent of the ballot boxes counted, Erdogan is said to have scored 52.1 per cent of the nailbiting vote. His leading opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu trailed closely behind with 47.9 per cent. Turkey has been gripped by its tightest election campaign in nearly a decade as the two rivals both failed to reach the 50 per cent threshold necessary to win outright. A run-off vote was then scheduled for May 28. The uncertainty around the result destabilised the national economy, with the Lira falling against the Dollar and the central bank’s currency and gold reserves plunging by £17 billion in the run-up to the election.