VIDEO: Erdogan gifts currency notes and toys to children before casting vote in Istanbul
A videograb shows Recep Tayyip Erdogan handing a banknote to a girl at a polling station in Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan handed out banknotes to children before casting his vote at a polling station in Istanbul.
According to local media, the currency notes had a value of 200 Turkish liras.
Videos shared on social media showed the Turkish leader holding a stack of currency notes and handing them out to children as they approached and greeted him.
Erdogan cast his vote along with his wife Emine at a polling station in one of the secondary schools in Istanbul.
Preliminary results from Turkey's presidential election on Sunday showed Erdogan ahead with 59.47% compared to opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu with 34.79%, though pollsters expected the gap to narrow in the tight contest.
Turkish broadcasters said the results, given less than two hours after polling stations closed, were based on 9.1% of the ballot boxes counted.
Pre-election polls had given the edge to Kilicdaroglu, who pledges to roll back much of Erdogan's two-decade legacy.
Eddogan told the media, “We pray to God for a better future for our nation and Turkish democracy.”
Several people raised questions about bribing over the video. Local media clarified that children do not participate in elections, and such handouts by the head of state cannot be regarded as a bribe.
