Turkish election officials report that Mr. Erdogan, who was prime minister from 2003 to 2014, won the run-off with 52.1% of the vote. It indicates that he has won a third term as president that sets a new record.
Mr. Erdogan, who was prime minister from 2003 to 2014, won with a share of 52.1% after 99% of the ballots had been tabulated.
It indicates that he will hold the office of president for a record-breaking third time and for at least another five years.
While ballots were quickly counted after polls closed at 5 p.m. local time (3 p.m. BST), it remained too close to call for hours. At one point, the gap between the incumbent and his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, was under a percentage point.
At at 8 o’clock local time (6 o’clock BST), Mr. Erdogan emerged from his house and thanked the populace for “entrusting us with the duty of governing for the next five years.”
Many prominent figures from throughout the world have praised him. Vladimir Putin was one of them, and he penned a lengthy letter to Mr. Erdogan that ended with the following wishes: “From the bottom of my heart I wish you new successes in such a responsible activity as the head of state, as well as good health and well-being.”
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, extended greetings as well as a reminder of the “immense challenges” that both nations face.
He tweeted, “The Mediterranean Sea, the future of our Euro-Atlantic Alliance, and the return of peace to Europe.”
We will continue to advance with President Erdogan, whom I congratulate on his reelection.
In a stirring address he delivered earlier this evening, Kemal Kilicdaroglu refused to accept defeat.
Kilicdaroglu said, “I wasn’t able to defend your rights.” “I did not cower before an unjust structure; I could not and did not act like a mute devil.
“I could not remain silent as millions of people were reduced to second-class status in our nation.
“I could not let them stand all over your rights. For your children to go to bed hungry. For farmers to not to be able to produce. I could not allow these things.”
He concluded by thanking the 25 million people who voted for him – and says the “battle continues”.
The two had to face off since neither received the necessary 50% of the vote in the first round on May 14. Mr. Erdogan’s victory will have significant repercussions for Turkey and the rest of the world.
The two contenders presented radically divergent perspectives on the nation’s recent past and future.
Turkey was expelled from a US-led fighter-jet project after Mr. Erdogan’s administration rejected Sweden’s application to join NATO and bought Russian missile defense systems. But it also assisted in negotiating a vital agreement that let grain supplies from Ukraine and prevented a world food crisis.
The 74-year-old opponent of Mr. Erdogan pledged to bring back a more democratic nation.
