Incumbent Erdogan has won the run-off election for the presidency in Turkey. This was announced by the electoral authority. Accordingly, Erdogan achieved around 52 percent of the votes, his opponent Kilicdaroglu 48 percent.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won the run-off election in Turkey. He faces a new five-year term as President. The chairman of the electoral authority, Ahmet Yener, said Erdogan had won 52.14 percent of the vote. Erdogan’s rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 47.86 percent of the vote.
More than 99 percent of the votes have been counted. With a gap of more than two million votes between the candidates, the remaining uncounted votes would not change the result, Yener added.
Erdogan declared himself the winner early on
Erdogan had already declared himself the winner before the announcement. But the true winner of the election was Turkey, Erdogan told his jubilant supporters in Istanbul. He sees the result as a mandate to continue his presidency. He will be with his followers “to the grave”. Already in the early evening, his supporters filled the streets of Turkish cities, waving flags and celebrating the election victory.
His challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the election was the most unfair in years. He regrets “the far greater problems” that the country now awaited. He will continue to fight for democracy. “In these elections, the will of the people for a change from an authoritarian government was clearly expressed, despite all the repression,” he said.
Several state and heads of government congratulated early
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to congratulate Erdogan before the official announcement of the result. “Your election victory was a natural result of your selfless work as the leader of Turkey,” he said. He appreciates Erdogan’s “personal contribution to strengthening friendly Russian-Turkish relations”.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi also congratulated Erdogan before the official election results were announced. Iran’s head of government is confident of strengthening relations between the two neighboring countries, the state news agency IRNA reported.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has already congratulated Erdogan. The Hungarian Prime Minister wrote on Twitter on Sunday of an “undisputed election victory”.
Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba have already congratulated: “My dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, congratulations on your victory,” the head of state of Qatar wrote on Twitter.