Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces victory in Turkish elections

Addressing his supporters after midnight at the AK Party headquarters in the capital Ankara, Erdoğan said they were waiting for the “outcome of the national will,” but they had a “clear lead, though unofficial results have been announced.”

Erdoğan had secured 49% of the vote as he spoke according to the initial unofficial results. “Türkiye has proven once again that it is among world’s leading democracies with its commitment to superiority of national will, freedom of its citizens in their political choices,” he added.

“We believe that we will win this election with more than 50% of the votes,” Erdoğan also said.

Erdoğan and his main rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, did not secure more than 50% of the vote, setting up a runoff vote scheduled for May 28.

After an uneventful vote that ended at 5 p.m. local time, a tense night prevailed in Türkiye as ballot boxes were opened. The opposition bloc of six parties repeatedly opposed the vote count, claiming their candidate Kılıçdaroğlu was ahead of incumbent President Erdoğan.

They contested the official results and cried foul over results announced by the public news agency Anadolu Agency (AA).