Istanbul, Türkiye: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared victory Sunday in a historic runoff election that posed the toughest challenge of his two-decade rule.
“We will be ruling the country for the coming five years,” Erdogan told his cheering supporters from atop a bus in his home district in Istanbul. “God willing, we will be deserving of your trust.”
I would like to thank each and every member of our nation who once again conveyed to us responsibility for governing Türkiye for next 5 years
Türkiye’s 85 million-strong citizens are the winners in the national elections that concluded today, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, confident in his clear lead towards reelection.
“All 85 million of our citizens are the winners of both the May 14 and May 28 elections,” Erdogan said in an address to the nation from Istanbul.
“We said ‘We will win in a way that no one will lose.’ So the only winner today is Türkiye,” he stressed.
Erdogan is currently leading in the presidential runoff with 53.41% of the vote, while opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu has 46.59%, with 75.42% of the votes counted, according to Ahmet Yener, chairman of the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
On May 14, no candidate won the required 50% in the first round, triggering the presidential runoff, although Erdogan took the lead with 49.52%. Erdogan’s electoral alliance also won a majority in parliament on May 14.
“We have completed the second-round presidential election with the favor of our nation,” Erdogan said, expressing his gratitude to the people of Türkiye.
“I would like to thank each and every member of our nation who once again conveyed to us the responsibility for governing the country for the next five years,” he added.
Türkiye’s President Erdogan started off his speech with a famous Turkish song as he thanked the Turkish nation for his historic runoff election victory outside his home in Istanbul pic.twitter.com/cuepUYwCeV
— TRT World (@trtworld) May 28, 2023
Erdogan is leading in the runoff election with 53.41% of the vote, while opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu has 46.59%, with 75.42% of the votes counted, according to Ahmet Yener, chairman of the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
More than 64.1 million Turkish citizens 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 Turkiye.
On May 14, no candidate won the required 50% in the first round, thus triggering presidential runoff, although the incumbent Erdogan took the lead with 49.52%.
Turkish presidential candidate Kilicdaroglu who was traiing in the race said, “he will continue his struggle for democracy and asked his supporters to continue their struggle.”
He added: “I would like to thank the heads of the Nation Alliance, their organisations, our voters, and the citizens who protected the ballot boxes and fought against these immoral and unlawful pressures.”
“As a person of this land, I have always fought for your rights and justice, so that no one oppresses you, so that you can live in abundance, and I will continue to do so,” Kilicdaroglu also said.
As soon as the result was declared, World leaders started congratulating Turkey’s Erdogan on election win. Traffic was at a complete standstill amid the celebratory atmosphere as car drivers sounded their horns and flashed their lights while others hung out of vehicles waving Turkish flags. While in Doha (Qatar), the Al Jaber twin towers also lit up with the Turkish flag, and also feature an image of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who leads in the runoff election in Türkiye.
The Al Jaber twin towers in Doha, Qatar lit up with the Turkish flag, and also feature an image of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who leads in the runoff election in Türkiye pic.twitter.com/j7iIbM7TVD
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) May 28, 2023
The leaders of Qatar, Hungary, Somalia and Pakistan were among the first heads of state and government on Sunday to congratulate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is leading in the presidential runoff election.
Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad tweeted: “My dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, congratulations on your victory, and I wish you success in your new term.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also hailed Erdogan on an “unquestionable” victory.
In his congratulations note, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described Erdogan as “one of few world leaders whose politics has been anchored in public service.”
Shortly after the official results were released, President Nicolas Maduro too sent a greeting to the Turkish people and their president.
“Venezuela celebrates the victory of our brother and friend Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was victorious in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Türkiye,” he said.
“We congratulate the Turkish people on this victory and we wish to continue working together to build the new world. Long live Türkiye!”
Russian president Putin also congratulated Erdogan, telling him his victory is clear evidence of the support of the Turkish people for his independent foreign policy.
He added that Erdogan’s personal contribution to the strengthening of friendly Russian-Turkish relations is appreciated.
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC), H.E. #Hissein_Brahim_Taha, extended his congratulations to H.E. Mr. #Recep_Tayyip_Erdogan, #President of the Republic of Türkiye, on his re-election.
While Former US President Donald Trump said, Erdogan ‘has lifted’ Türkiye ‘to a new level of prominence and respect’ in his congratulatory message to the President Erdogan on ‘his big and well deserved victory’ in presidential runoff.
-Dr. M Shahid Siddiqui (PhD), Follow via Twitter @shahidsiddiqui
