Erdogan claims decisive victory in Turkish presidential election

“I accept these election results”, Ince said, adding Erdogan should “represent 80 million” and be “president for us all”.

Turkey’s election council announced early Monday that Erdogan was the victor, but it did not release a breakdown of the numbers.

“Our people have given us the job of carrying out the presidential and executive posts”, Mr Erdogan said in a short national address, even as votes were still being counted.

Meanwhile, a senior official from the Trump administration said June 26 that the US and Turkey have concluded the Manbij roadmap.

He will face few checks on his power from a diminished parliament where the majority is a coalition that includes his ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), who performed surprisingly well, doubling their expected share of ballots.

Mr Ince received just 31%, despite a lively campaign attracting huge crowds. But, as Turkey moves ever further toward authoritarianism and away from democracy, another question inevitably hovers on the horizon: why is Turkey still a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and how long can that last?

İnce now appears a powerful enough figure to wrest control of the CHP in the wake of the race.

His supporters took to the streets in Istanbul and other cities in celebration Sunday night.

In early trading in Asia, the lira currency firmed modestly versus the dollar on hopes of increased political stability.

Cheering Erdogan supporters waving Turkish flags gathered outside the president’s official residence in Istanbul, chanting, “Here’s the president, here’s the commander”. In a tweet, he said only 37 per cent of ballot boxes had actually been counted, as opposed to the more than almost 90 per cent the state-run agency Anadolu was reporting. More than 55 million Turks are registered to vote.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, was edging past the 10 per cent threshold to enter parliament, with 10.7 per cent.

The High Election Board (YSK) said on Monday the elections had been “healthy”.

Mr Edogan’s rivals have accused the President of behaving like a “dictator” after political opponents, journalists and judges were jailed following a failed military coup in 2016. They have said election law changes and fraud allegations in the 2017 referendum raise fears about the fairness of the ballots.

Other regional leaders to congratulate him on his victory include Azerbaijan’s Haydar Aliyev, the Amir of Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The elections were held under the state of emergency imposed shortly after the 2016 coup, in which at least 240 people were killed. It is the largest opposition party in parliament. So instead of dreaming about a Turkey without Erdoğan, they better find ways to win over a Turkey that will continue to be governed by him.

“If Ince wins”, he continued, “the courts will be independent”. As it looked increasingly likely that Erdogan would extend his time as president-a position he’s held since 2014-the lira has tumbled lower. Turkey’s years-long European Union accession bid stalled some time ago amid disputes on a range of issues, including Ankara’s human rights record, especially since the post-coup crackdown.

“I remember a time when we had to wake up at 4 a.m.to go to the hospital because the lines were so long”.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Erdogan and his AKP party “used state resources to ensure victory” adding that “the media is nearly totally pro-Erdogan after years of co-option and censorship”.