Turkey: Erdogan Wins Reelection to 5-Year Term as President After 20 Years in Power
It’s official, according to state media–Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been re-elected as Turkey’s president after passing the 50% threshold required for victory over his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
With 97 percent of ballot boxes opened, Erdogan has captured 52.1 percent of votes over Kilicdaroglu with 47.9 percent. He is Turkey’s longest running president in history, already long surpassing the rule of the Republic of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (at 15 years)
According to his victory speech before a jubilant crowd of supporters: “We completed the second round of the presidential election with the favour of our nation. I would like to express my gratitude to my nation for giving us a day of democracy,” Erdogan said. “The winners of both the 14 May elections and the 28 May elections are all our 85 million citizens,” he added.
