Turkey Election: Erdogan Claims Victory in the Presidential Election
Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, claimed victory Sunday during a re-election bid after seeing the strongest challenge to his 20-year rule.
Turkish public broadcaster TRT called the presidential election for incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
State-run news agency Anadolu’s vote count shows Erdoğan leading opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu 52.11% to 47.89% with 98.52% of the vote counted.
Official numbers have been slower than media counts, and while they show Erdoğan leading, he has not officially been announced the winner.
"We have completed the second round of the presidential election with the favor of our nation," Erdoğan said following the tally. "I would like to express my gratitude to my people who made us live this democracy holiday. We will deserve your trust."
Erdoğan’s apparent triumph in the Turkish Republic’s centenary year comes after one of the most hotly contested presidential elections in recent times.
Voters went back to the polls for the runoff election after Erdoğan and Kilicdaroglu each failed to secure more than 50% of the votes in the first round of voting on May 14.
Although Turkey is a NATO ally and it holds elections, the country of 84 million has slipped further toward authoritarianism under Erdoğan and kept close ties with Russia.
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