Turkey's PM Erdogan seen winning presidential vote

ISTANBUL — An unofficial vote count indicates Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to win the country's first ever direct presidential election in the first round, cementing his position as Turkey's all-powerful leader, the state-run Anadolu news agency said yesterday.

When nearly 52 percent of ballot boxes were counted Erdogan had the support of 55.68 percent of Turks, according to the count by Anadolu. His main rival, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, had 35.79 percent and the third candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, had 8.41 percent.

The Anadolu agency has employees stationed at every ballot station, who send the results to its headquarters in Ankara. Turkey's electoral commission is not expected to announce any official results until Monday.

Now in his third term as prime minister at the head of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Erdogan has been a polarizing figure.

He is fervently supported by many as a man of the people who has led Turkey through a period of economic prosperity. His critics, however, view him as an increasingly autocratic leader bent on concentrating power and imposing his religious and conservative views on a country founded on strong secular traditions.