Electoral board head: Turkey vote was ‘healthy’

Unlike Erdogan’s success, his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lost its majority in the 600-seat assembly by claiming 295 seats, according to the unofficial results.

Muharrem Ince, Turkey’s main opposition candidate, conceded defeat but described the election as “unjust” and warned that Turkey was entering a risky regime of one-man rule.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for the past 15 years, is set to extend his rule with sweeping powers after winning landmark presidential and parliamentary elections.

A night of triumph for Erdogan saw the man who has dominated Turkey for the last 15 years declared victor of Sunday’s presidential poll without needing a second round and lead his ruling party-led alliance to an overall majority in parliament.

Erdogan won 52.7 percent in Turkish presidential election after 96 percent of votes were counted in Turkey on June 24.

Under the new system, the office of prime minister is abolished, parliament’s powers curtailed and the president is accorded wide-ranging executive authority.

Erdogan supporters waving Turkish and party flags celebrated outside his residence in Istanbul.

Mr Erdogan’s main challenger was 54-year-old former physics teacher Muharrem Ince, who was backed by the centre-left main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging election campaign.

Internally, opposition politicians and activists will remain suspicious of the AKP’s control of the media and security sectors and its ability to use them to ensure political victories.

Turkey would have held a run-off election on July 8 if no one received 50 percent of the votes. Voter turnout for the election was reportedly 87%.

More than 56 million people were eligible to vote as they went to polls for the first time to simultaneously elect members of the parliament and president.

Erdogan declared his victory with a tweet saying “Devam” (“continue”), a reference to the election campaign during which the word “enough” (“tamam”) became a trending topic on Twitter after he promised to step down if the people wanted.

His latest presidential win sees him assume new executive powers.

In separate parliamentary elections, the governing alliance led by Mr Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP) secured a majority, with 53% and about 343 seats.

In his Sunday speech, Erdogan mentioned nearly the 7 percentage-point drop in votes for his governing AK Party from 49.5 percent to 42.6, saying “we have received the message that has been given to us in the ballot boxes”.

The opposition Nation Alliance, which consists of secular CHP, nationalist Good Party and Islamic-leaning Felicity Party, hovered around 33 percent at the parliament.

In parliament, Erdogan’s AKP saw its hold weaken slightly; it ended up with 295 seats – six less than the 301-seat majority it needs to govern by itself.

Rights activists have said the press is not free to report on all sides in Turkey.

The president’s supporters say the new system will make Turkey safer and stronger.

Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, said Monday it was now up to Erdogan to decide whether Turkey’s relations with the European Union will improve.

“It is likely that Erdogan and his party will keep cooperating with the MHP, if he wants to keep on implementing the policies he followed in the last few years”. Under his rule, a de-facto secure zone has been created along the Turkish-Syrian border, so thousands of Syrians could be relocated in that area. Both Ankara and Washington have outlawed the terrorist PKK, considered by Turkey to be a YPG ally. As results came in, Ince suggested voting had not been conducted fairly.