Turkey Elections: Erdogan wins re-election as president

• Posted on June 25, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Turkey’s long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the first round of a presidential poll.

Election authority chief Sadi Guven said the president had “received the absolute majority of all valid votes”.

State media reports put Mr. Erdogan on 53% with 99% of votes counted, and his closest rival Muharrem Ince on 31%.

The opposition is yet to officially concede but said it would continue its democratic fight “whatever the result”.

It had earlier cast doubt on results being broadcast by state media. Final results will be announced on Friday.

The polls were the most fiercely fought in many years, and Mr. Erdogan is set to assume sweeping powers under a new executive presidency.

He has presided over a strong economy and built up a solid support base by investing in healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

But the 64-year-old has also a polarised opinion, cracking down on opponents and putting some 160,000 people in jail.

Mr. Erdogan gave a triumphant victory speech from the balcony of his party’s headquarters in the capital Ankara at 03:00 (00:00 GMT), declaring: “The winner of this election is each and every individual among my 81 million citizens.”

There are reports that Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate Mr. Ince has admitted defeat in a message to a journalist, though this has not been confirmed.

Earlier on Sunday, he accused state-run news agency Anadolu of “manipulation” over its reporting of vote-share figures.

Mr. Ince tweeted that he would make a statement at 12:00 (09:00 GMT) on Monday.

Source: BBC