Turkey elections: Erdogan re-elected; to become even stronger president

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan showed that he is far from reaching a decline as he won the presidential elections on Sunday, June 24, and will become more powerful as the country's first executive president.

The people of Turkey had given their approval to significantly increase the president's powers in a referendum held in April 2017.

Erdogan secured more than half of the votes required to win the election in which nearly 98 per cent of ballots was counted, the Supreme Election Committee informed the media in Ankara, the capital.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said Erdogan received 52.5 per cent of the vote share, Al Jazeera reported. The election saw a record 87 per cent turnout.

In his victory speech, Erdogan said it was a victory for democracy and Turkey set an example for the rest of the world. He also took a more combative stance on fighting terrorism with a special mention of neighbour Syria and vowed to increase his country's "international prestige".

Erdogan had brought the election forward by one-and-half years claiming that a new mandate would make his rule to deal with economic and security-related challenges more effectively.

Erdogan also declared a victory for the People's Alliance between his ruling Justice and Development Party and the Nationalist Movement Party, saying they secured victory in the parliamentary elections, held also on Sunday.

Sixty-four-year-old Erdogan has been at the helm of Turkey's affairs for more than a decade and a half now, serving either as its prime minister or president.

Erdogan's supporters welcomed the result and said his election was an apt response to foreign powers who were meddling with Turkey's economy.

The opposition, which fought the election with a renewed vigour, did not initially concede defeat but eventually said that it would continue with its democratic struggle, irrespective of the result, the Guardian reported.

Muhareem Ince, a leading opposition candidate, secured 30.68 per cent of votes, the report said.