Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in the second round of the presidential elections that took place this Sunday in the country.
“Our nation has entrusted us with the responsibility of running the country for the next five years,” Erdogan said outside his Istanbul residence, where an enthusiastic crowd had gathered in recent hours.
In front of his followers, the head of state, who has been in power for 20 years, assured that he will fulfill “all the promises made to the people” and stressed that each election is “a rebirth.”
The preliminary and unofficial results place the current president of Turkey ahead in the second round of the elections, when 98% of the polling stations were counted.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said Erdogan had already won 52.1% of the vote, while his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had 47.9%.
The ANKA news agency, close to the opposition, advanced with 51.9% for Erdogan and 48.1% for Kilicdaroglu.
The polling stations closed at 5:00 p.m., two hours less in Lisbon. The Turkish opposition today denounced irregularities in the second round of the presidential elections, such as physical attacks against electoral observers in the southwestern region and false votes.
Turkey has some 85 million inhabitants and more than 61 million registered voters in a process in which voting is compulsory.
Source: TSF
