Erdogan reelected Turkiye president - supreme election council

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected Türkiye’s president in runoff elections, said the chairperson of the country's Supreme Election Council (YSK) Ahmet Yener yesterday.

Ahmet was reported as saying by Anadolu Agency that Erdogan won Türkiye’s presidency over opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the second-round runoff vote.

According to unofficial results, the Turkish incumbent won the race with 52.14 percent, while Kilicdaroglu got 47.86 percent of the votes, he said, adding that 99.43 percent of the ballot boxes have been opened so far.

In a speech in Istanbul late yesterday, President Erdogan said Türkiye’s 85 million-strong citizens are the winners in the national elections that concluded yesterday.

More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.92 million who earlier cast their ballots at overseas polling stations.

Nearly 192,000 ballot boxes were set up for voters across Türkiye.

On May 14, no candidate won the required 50 percent in the first round, triggering Sunday’s runoff, although Erdogan took the lead with 49.52 percent.

On that day, Erdogan’s People’s Alliance also won a majority in Parliament.

Meanwhile, world leaders took to social media and public platforms to congratulate Erdogan, with US President Joe Biden saying he looks forward to continuing to work together on bilateral issues and global challenges.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in his congratulatory messages, said he appreciates Erdogan's contribution to strengthening "friendly" relations between Moscow and Ankara and expressed his readiness to continue "constructive dialogue" on the bilateral, regional, and international agenda.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated Erdogan on his reelection, saying: “I look forward to continuing strong collaboration between our countries.”

While, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Erdogan on his reelection, saying: "We will continue to move forward together."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also congratulated Erdogan on his victory, saying she "looks forward to continue building the EU-Türkiye relationship."

"It is of strategic importance for both the EU and Türkiye to work on advancing this relationship, for the benefit of our people," she said on Twitter.

- Bernama

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