Turkey faces a presidential run-off poll on 28 May after an inconclusive vote on 14 May. The political momentum seems to be with the incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who narrowly failed to secure an absolute majority.
Erdogan is also expected to win a majority in the parliamentary election, the official results of which will be announced on Monday.
Presidential challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, widely tipped as the front-runner in many opinion polls, lagged four percentage points behind Erdogan, despite soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, coupled with accusations of a botched response to the earthquake in February.
Istanbul's Uskudar district, once a traditional Erdogan stronghold, is witnessing growing electoral opposition.
It is a place Kilicdaroglu targeted with his broad electoral coalition. There is a mixed reaction to the first-round vote.
"There is this Tayyip Erdogan mentality, you see. It's always been believed he will save this country. He will save this homeland," said Uskudar resident Merve, who only wanted to be identified by her first name.
"That logic is always there," she added, "I want to break that mentality a little bit. We should open our minds. Change is good. But people believe without him, there will be no roads, no bridges, and the citizens will be hungry."
She added: "You know, he still understands the Turkish people, he still understands the differences, he still understands the state of poverty and the poor. No matter what, he is the one who still reaches out a hand to me today."
'Nothing has changed'
Uskudar residents fish for food or maybe some extra cash in Istanbul's Bosphorus waterway, which dissects the city.
Ismail, one of those residents, is still coming to terms with the presidential vote.
"We didn't expect it, and frankly, we were very hopeful that there would be a change, but again nothing has changed. So, we are shocked. I don't want to believe in the result," said Ismail.
His friend, Cem, says he isn't surprised, but worries about the prospect of a second round of voting in a presidential run-off.
"There wasn't much that surprised me – the strong one won again. I mean, the big fish swallowed the small fish again. It's as simple as that," said Cem.
"Round two is something we don't like, but people are ready. They will be ready again. In the second round, the chances are 50-50 again; nothing has changed, so we will wait and see."
Following the parliamentary elections. Erdogan's coalition is expected to secure a a comfotable majority, which should lend Erdogan the advantage for the 28 May run-off.
"Erdogan can now campaign saying that I'm the candidate who guarantees stability and also security because we have the parliamentary advantage," explained Sezin Oney, an analyst for the PolitikYol news portal.
"One of the undecided voters who never would vote for Erdogan told me that I would be voting for Erdogan this time just because of parliament," she added.
"You would want the president and the parliament to align in the same direction. So that, of course, would be something detrimental for the opposition and positive for Erdogan."
Kilicdaroglu's campaign
Kilicdaroglu's campaign is pivoting toward courting Turkish nationalist voters in a bid to secure supporters of the presidential candidate Sinan Ogan who dropped out of the vote after coming third.
Kilicdaroglu is doubling down on his vow to return millions of Syrian refugees as well as promising to protect the motherland – a reference to security and the country's war against Kurdish separatists.
This is a risky strategy given the challenger's dependence on Kurdish minority votes.
"This is a very delicate balance. It's not impossible, but it's much, much more difficult than the first vote," said Oney.
But with the political momentum now with Erdogan, caution doesn't appear to be an option for Kilicdaroglu.
