Turkey’s Erdogan declared winner of presidential runoff

Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey’s presidency in a run-off election with 52.14 percent of the vote, High Electoral Council Head Ahmet Yener said on Sunday, making the results official.

With 99.43 percent of ballot boxes opened, Erdogan’s rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 47.86 percent of the vote, Yener said. With a gap of more than two million votes between the candidates, the rest of the uncounted votes will not change the result, he added.

More to come

This update is broken. An earlier version of this story can be read below.

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in Turkey’s presidential election on Sunday, a win that will steer his increasingly authoritarian rule into its third decade.

Addressing his supporters, Erdogan said voters had given him the responsibility to govern for the next five years.

“The only winner is Turkey,” the incumbent president said, addressing supporters from the top of a bus in Istanbul.

The final official results have not been released.

Erdogan’s challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu – who has the support of a six-party opposition alliance – said he would continue to lead his struggle after early results showed him losing in what he said was “the most unfair election in years.”

Speaking in Ankara, Kilicdaroglu, who won about 47.9 percent of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, said the results showed the will of the people to replace the authoritarian government. He was saddened by the “trouble” that awaits Turkey, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Erdogan. The presidents of Iran and Algeria and the Emir of Qatar were among the leaders to greet him in the Middle East, where he has asserted Turkey’s influence, with military might.

The election has been seen as one of the most important yet for Turkey, with the opposition believing it has a strong chance of unseating Erdogan after his popularity has been affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

However, the victory will strengthen the image of invincibility, after having redrawn domestic, economic, security and foreign policy in NATO member countries of 85 million people and Turkey’s position as a regional power.

A split campaign

Supporters gathered in their Istanbul homes in anticipation of victory as data reported by the state-run Anadolu agency and the opposition ANKA news agency gave an edge with nearly 99 percent of ballot boxes counted.

The head of the High Electoral Council earlier told a press conference that Erdogan was leading Kilicdaroglu with 53.41 percent support, with 75.42 percent of the ballot boxes entered.

Erdogan, head of the Islamist-rooted AK Party, appealed to voters with nationalist and conservative rhetoric during a divisive campaign that diverted attention from deep economic problems.

The defeat of Kilicdaroglu, who had promised to set the country on a more democratic and collaborative path, is expected to be mourned in Western capitals already worried about relations with Russia.

Across the Middle East, the prospect of five more years of Erdogan is not seen as alarming as it may come after he reaches an accommodation with some of the governments he has opposed.

Erdogan’s supporters gathered outside his Istanbul home chanting Allahu Akbar, or God is Great.

“I hope everything will get better,” said Nisa, 28, a woman wearing a headscarf and headscarf who goes by the name Erdogan.

Other Erdogan supporters say Turkey will be stronger with him in office for another five years.

“There are problems, problems in every country around the world, also in European countries.… With strong leadership, we will also solve Turkey’s problems,” said Mert, 39, who came to celebrate with his son.

The provinces that were hit by the earthquake stood by the ruling party

Bugra Oztug, 24, who voted for Kilicdaroglu, said he was not surprised by the result, blaming the opposition for failing to replace him.

“I feel sad and disappointed but I don’t have hope. I still think there are people who can see the reality and the truth,” said Oztug.

Erdogan’s performance has been wrong-footed opponents who also thought that voters will punish people because the country was the first slow to respond to the devastating earthquake in February, in which more than 50,000 people died.

But in the first round of voting on May 14, including parliamentary elections, his AK Party came out on top in 10 of the 11 earthquake-hit provinces, helping him secure a parliamentary majority along with his allies.