Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected this Sunday in the second round of the country’s presidential elections, the Turkish High Electoral Commission confirmed.
“On the basis of the provisional results, it has been established that Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been re-elected as President of the Republic,” the chairman of Turkey’s High Electoral Commission, Ahmet Yener, was quoted as saying by the state news agency Anadolu.
The final official results are expected to be announced early this week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already claimed victory in the second round of the country’s presidential elections today, while his opponent lamented the result.
“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.”
For his part, the opponent Kemal Kiliçdaroglu expressed his “sadness” for the future of Turkey.
“I am deeply saddened by the difficulties the country is facing,” said the defeated candidate and leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, speaking at his party’s headquarters in Ankara following the re-election of President Erdogan.
Preliminary and unofficial results put the current president of Turkey ahead in the second round of the elections, when 98% of the polling stations were cleared.
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.
Polling stations closed at 5:00 p.m. local time, 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
