In the
May 28 presidential runoff election, incumbent President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emerged as the victor over his rival
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu by securing more than 52 per cent of the votes. This outcome signifies Erdoğan's success in obtaining a
majority and securing his position as the winner of the election.
Incumbent president
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has won Türkiye's run-off presidential vote for another five-year term,
Ahmet Yener -- the head of the election authority -- announced during a press conference in the capital Ankara.
With 99.43% of ballot boxes opened, Erdoğan's rival
Kılıçdaroğlu received 47.86% of the votes, Yener said. With a gap of more than 2 million votes between candidates, the rest of the uncounted votes will not change the result, he added.
"We will be ruling the country for the
coming five years," Erdoğan told his cheering supporters from atop a bus in his home district in Istanbul.
"God willing, we will be
deserving of your trust."
In a speech in Istanbul late Sunday, Erdoğan said Türkiye's
85 million-strong citizens are the winners in the national elections that concluded today.
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% in the first round, triggering Sunday's
runoff, although Erdoğan took the lead with 49.52%.
On that day, Erdoğan's People's Alliance also won a majority in parliament.
Türkiye's main cities erupted in car-honking jubilation while world leaders started congratulating the veteran leader on extending his rule for one last time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said it showed Turks' support for "your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy".
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged "to continue to move forward" on joint global challenges and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to "further strengthen our strategic partnership".
Former US president Donald Trump hailed Erdoğan's "big and well-deserved victory".
Traffic on Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square ground to a halt and huge crowds of singing and flag-waving supporters gathered outside his presidential palace in Ankara.
"Our people chose the right man," 17-year-old Nisa Sivaslıoğlu said in the Turkish capital.
"I expect Erdoğan to add more to the good things he had already done for our country."
