Turkish lira witnesses record low ahead of presidential election runoff

Turkish economy is witnessing a downturn as the country's currency, the lira, plunged to a record low of over 20 against the US dollar on Friday (May 26).

The lira touched 20.00 against the U.S. currency and continued to impend near that level. It closed at 19.8695 on Thursday (May 25) and has dropped 6.4% so far this year.

Since the first round of Turkey's presidential election, which took place on May 14, Turkey's sovereign dollar bonds and equities have descended, whereas the cost of certifying exposure to Turkish debt has risen.

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Erdogan, on Thursday evening, in an interview said that the Gulf states had recently sent funding to Turkey, briefly helping facilitate the central bank and markets. He further added that he plans to meet and thank the leaders of the countries personally after Sunday's runoff.

Erdogan takes an early lead in polls

Turkey held one of the most important elections in the country's modern 100-year history on May 14. The pivotal, crucial election could have significant consequences for the country's future, it could extend the current President's two-decade grip on power or put the mostly Muslim nation on a more secular course. As per preliminary results, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took an early lead.

Turkish state news agency Anadolu showed the incumbent president picking up more than 51 per cent of the vote, while his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu trailed with around 43 per cent.

Anadolu's figures, as per AFP, were based on 60 per cent of the ballots. However, Kilicdaroglu, in a tweet, claimed that his party's own vote count showed him winning.

"We are leading," he wrote.

A count by the pro-opposition Anka news site showed that the two leaders were tied, falling just short of the 50-per cent threshold needed to avoid a May 28 runoff.

Both Anka and Anadolu show third-party candidate Sinan Ogan was picking up five per cent of the vote.

Early votes from heavily pro-government districts appeared to be giving Erdogan the lead, but as more ballots were counted, his lead appeared to be shrinking.

"We are seeing a positive picture, according to our data," opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesman Faik Oztrak told the press.

He added that they would not release any numbers until the number of opened ballot boxes reach a meaningful level.

"We will start to give the numbers when the number of opened ballot boxes reaches a meaningful level."

(With inputs from agencies)

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