Erdogan, leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), is below the 50% he needs to avoid a runoff.

His main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's largest opposition party, had received 44.88% of the votes already counted.

Under Turkish law, if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the two front-runners will enter a second round of voting scheduled for May 28.