Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cemented his legacy as the country’s longest-serving leader after beating the opposition’s combined candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, in the presidential run-off election.
Preliminary estimates on Sunday showed Erdogan garnering 52.11 percent of the votes against his opposition challenger Kilicdaroglu, who secured just under 48 percent in what has been dubbed the most consequential polls in post-Ottoman Türkiye.
In a victory speech at the AK Party's Istanbul headquarters, a visibly ecstatic Erdogan recited a few lines of a famous Turkish song to the loud cheers of thousands of his supporters.
"We completed the presidential run-off election with people's support. I thank all who cast their ballots," he said, adding, "We've been given the responsibility to govern for another five years."
Erdogan received an estimated 27.5 million votes, about two million more than Kilicdaroglu's 25 million plus votes.
The country’s election commission, YSK, will announce the final results on June 1.
Erdogan’s victory is all the more stunning as he had to overcome a relentless smear campaign by the Western press.
Valeria Giannotta, Director of Observatory Türkiye at the Italian think tank Centre of International Politics in Italy, described Erdogan as a very "resilient and strong" leader in her post-poll analysis.
“The result showed that the Turkish people do prefer Erdogan and the continuity he represents...The next five years will be marked with continuity, including the security approach in terms of fighting against terrorism. I expect that Türkiye will be a stabilising force in the region,” she told TRT World television.
Sunday’s run-off was a first in the country’s history as none of the presidential candidates secured the mandatory 50 percent plus one vote majority in the May 14 presidential elections.
In a statement after voting closed, the head of the Supreme Election Council (YSK) said the elections were conducted peacefully with no report of disruptions.
In the parliamentary election, the People’s Alliance led by Erdogan’s AK Party, also secured the majority by winning 323 seats in the 600-member Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.
Initial estimates for the run-off showed a voter turnout of over 85 percent, slightly lower than the 88.92 percent turnout two Sundays ago. Overseas voting was higher at 55.62 percent compared to 52.69 percent during the first round.
There are more than 64 million eligible voters in Türkiye and abroad.
With the victory, Recep Tayyip Erdogan will serve another five years in office. He was first elected president in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018.
The 69-year-old leader also served as prime minister from 2003 to 2014. He previously served as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998.
Earlier on Sunday, Erdogan and his wife, Emine Erdogan, cast their ballots in Istanbul and urged citizens “to turn out and vote without complacency”.
On the eve of the run-off, the president rallied his supporters in Istanbul, declaring that Türkiye’s 85 million citizens would be the winners in Sunday’s presidential run-off.
“All who have confidence in the national will, have a dream for our country and feel they belong to these lands will be a winner in the May 28 elections.”
More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.92 million who earlier cast their ballots at overseas polling stations.
A total of just over 192,000 ballot boxes were set up across Türkiye.
Polling stations at customs gates also closed on Sunday, while voting at Türkiye’s overseas diplomatic missions ended on May 24.
