The current head of state, Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won the second round of Turkey’s presidential election this Sunday after a near-total vote check, the country’s Electoral Commission announced.

Erdogan received 52.1% of the vote, while his rival, the Social Democrat Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 47.9%, with a tally of 99.5% of the vote, Ahmet Yener, chairman of the election commission, said in a public speech.

While this result is still preliminary, the few votes left uncounted can no longer change it, Yener said.

The final figures will be announced only after all possible problems have been resolved.

Prior to this announcement, Erdogan delivered his first victory speech in Istanbul, his hometown, where he is still registered and always votes. Kilicdaroglu made another short speech in which he admitted his defeat.

Also, two of Kilicdaroglu’s allies, the nationalist Meral Aksener and the conservative Ali Babacan, Erdogan’s former economy minister and now a dissident from his party, congratulated the election winner, recommending that he use the power he wields sparingly.

On May 14, none of the candidates won the necessary majority to become head of state in the first round of the presidential elections, which were held together with the parliamentary ones, in connection with which the second round had to be held for the first time since direct presidential elections were established in 2014.

Victory

The elections were considered among the most important for Turkey as the opposition believed they had a chance to unseat Turkey. erdogan and change his policies after his popularity was hurt by the cost of living crisis.

On the contrary, the victory strengthened its unshakable image, already changing the domestic, economic, security and foreign policy of this NATO member country of 85 million people.

The prospect of another five years in government is a blow to his opponents, who accuse him of undermining democracy while accumulating more and more power, which he denies.

International leaders congratulate Erdogan

The first international leaders from countries such as Russia, Venezuela, Iran or even the Taliban regime have already started congratulating Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his victory in the second round of this Sunday’s presidential election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Erdogan’s victory “a natural result of his selfless work as head of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the Turkish people’s support for his efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy.”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Erdogan’s victory with the aim of “further strengthening the strategic partnership for the benefit of our countries, as well as strengthening cooperation for the sake of security and stability in Europe.” Twitter account.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro celebrated the triumph of Erdogan, his “brother and friend”, and congratulated the Turkish people on “this new victory and the desire to continue working together to build a new world.” Long live Türkiye!”

Recovering Taliban Prime Minister Mohamed Hassan Ajund also congratulated the president and expressed his wish that “friendly relations” with Turkey continue, DPA reported.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban; Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and other prominent leaders such as Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibe also conveyed their congratulations to the Turkish leader.

Information: EFE, Reuters and Europa Press.