According to the official results, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was declared the winner of the second round of the presidential election in Turkey.
With 98.7% of the votes counted, Erdoğan received 52,09% and Kılıçdaroğlu 47.91 %, with voter turnout reaching 85%.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu won in Istanbul, Izmir, Edirne, along the coast, and in eastern Turkey.
Although it was a rainy day in Istanbul today, Erdogan’s supporters took to the streets to celebrate with flags and songs, an atmosphere that prevailed throughout the election campaign.
Erdogan himself, in his first public appearance following the election results, addressed his supporters with a song. «Today is a great day. With respect for the election results and between two religious holidays, we celebrated a day of democracy for the future of our people and our children. We will live up to your trust. We belong to Turkey, and Turkey belongs to us. The only winner is Turkey. »On both May 14 and May 28, our people were the winners,” Erdoğan said, thanking everyone who participated in the election campaign.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who until the very last moment had been urging voters to go to the polls because the future is just around the corner, stated after the election results were announced that «Our journey continues; we are here, and we will continue the fight for democracy. Those who voted for us should stand their ground until true democracy comes to our country» . He thanked the more than 25 million voters who supported him in this election and noted that «the people’s will to change the authoritarian government was clearly demonstrated, but we endured the most unfair election campaign and faced a great deal of pressure. »The main reason for my sadness is that starting tomorrow, the country faces much greater problems, and we will be the first to stand up to these problems,” said Kılıçdaroğlu.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received congratulations on his election victory from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister S. Sharif, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Emir of Qatar, Azerbaijani President Aliyev, and others.
Charles Michel Congratulates Erdogan
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed his congratulations to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his election via Twitter.
«Congratulations, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on your re-election as President of Turkey. I look forward to working with you again to deepen EU-Turkey relations in the years ahead,» he said.
Macron congratulates Erdogan on his re-election and speaks of the “challenges they must face together”
Emmanuel Macron congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his re-election as president of Turkey today, noting that “France and Turkey have very significant challenges to tackle together.”.
Among these “challenges,” the French president mentions, in his Twitter post, “the return of peace to Europe, the future of our Euro-Atlantic Alliance, and the Mediterranean Sea.”.
“Together with President Erdoğan, whom I congratulate, we will continue to move forward,” added the French head of state.
Zelenskyy Congratulates Erdoğan, Looks Forward to “Strengthening” Relations Between the Two Countries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his reelection as president of Turkey, expressing his hope for “strengthening” relations between their countries and “cooperation on security and stability” in Europe.
“We hope to further strengthen our strategic partnership for the benefit of our two countries, as well as to enhance our cooperation for the security and stability of Europe,” Zelenskyy said in his congratulatory message on Twitter.
Makis Mouratidis
