Erdogan Reelected As Turkey's President In Runoff

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been declared winner in the Turkish presidential election runoff, defeating the spirited challenge of Kemal Kilicdaroglu after he secured the support of another candidate, Ahmet Yener, chairman of the Turkish High Electoral Committee (YSK), confirmed, Joshua Askew reported for Euronews.

Photo Insert: The result is still not yet official, with 99.85% of the votes counted but there is no way Kilicdaroglu could overcome Erdogan’s lead.

"Based on the provisional results, it has been found that Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been re-elected President of the Republic," Yener announced, the government-controlled Anadolu Agency reported.

The result is still not yet official, with 99.85% of the votes counted, Anadolu added, but there is no way Kilicdaroglu could overcome Erdogan’s lead.

More than 85% of the Turkish electorate turned out to vote on Sunday, higher than the average in many European countries. Around 52,000,000 votes were cast, putting turnout at 85.71%.

Erdogan’s victory came on Monday, May 29, the 570th anniversary of the Ottoman Empire’s capture of Istanbul, then known as 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.”

He added: "Now that the elections are over, we will allocate all our time and energy to work. Overcoming the problems arising from inflation is one of our priorities. As the interest rate has come down, inflation will also come down."

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic