Jakarta, IO – Recep Tayyip Erdogan beat his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in historic runoff election on Sunday (28/5), the toughest challenge to his political career. His third-term victory meant he is set to extend his 20-year rule until 2028, reported CNNIndonesia, Monday (29/5).
In his victory speech, the 69-year-old called for unity and solidarity. “We should come together in unity and solidarity,” Erdogan told the chanting and flag-waving crowd. “We call for this with all our heart.”
In front of his supporters, he said the 2023 election was the most important contest in Turkey’s modern history as Monday marked the 570th anniversary of the Ottoman Empire capturing Istanbul, then Constantinople.
Referring to this event, Erdogan says: “That was a turning point in history, closed a century and opened a new one. I hope these elections will be such a turning point in history.”
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With 99.43 percent of the votes counted, preliminary official results announced by Turkey’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) on Sunday showed Erdogan winning with 52.14 percent of the votes. Kilicdaroglu received 47.86 percent.
In the first round of voting on May 14, Erdogan secured a nearly five-point lead over Kilicdaroglu but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to win. (un)