Undefeated Erdogan extends 2-decade rule in Türkiye runoff
ISTANBUL, Türkiye (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed for national unity Monday after winning a historic runoff election that extended two decades of his transformative but divisive rule until 2028.
The 69-year-old overcame Türkiye's worst economic crisis in a generation and the most powerful opposition alliance to ever face his Islamic-rooted party on his way to his toughest election win.
Streets erupted in car-honking jubilation and tributes poured in from across the world as Türkiye's most important leader in modern history led a sea of supporters in celebratory song outside his presidential palace in Ankara.
"We should come together in unity and solidarity," Erdogan told the chanting and flag-waving crowd.
"We call for this with all our heart."
Near-complete results showed Erdogan beating secular opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu by four percentage points.
"I look forward to continuing to work together as NATO Allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges," US President Joe Biden tweeted as Erdogan spoke.
Russia's Vladimir Putin said the outcome showed the support for Erdogan's "efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy".
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted to keep working with Erdogan "for the security and stability of Europe".
Leaders across Europe and the Arab world also sent their congratulations — as did former US president Donald Trump.
Traffic on Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square ground to a halt and huge crowds of singing and flag-waving supporters gathered across Türkiye.
"Our people chose the right man," 17-year-old Nisa Sivaslioglu said in the Turkish capital.
"I expect Erdogan to add more to the good things he has already done for our country."
Longest-serving leader
Türkiye's longest-serving leader was tested like never before in what was widely seen as the country's most consequential election in its 100-year history as a post-ottoman republic.
Kilicdaroglu pushed Erdogan into Türkiye's first runoff on May 14 and narrowed the margin further in the second round.
Opposition supporters viewed it as a do-or-die chance to save Türkiye from being turned into an autocracy by a man whose consolidation of power rivals that of Ottoman sultans.
Kilicdaroglu's brief concession statement expressed "real sadness about the big difficulties awaiting the country" with Erdogan.
The opposition leader re-emerged a transformed man after the first round.
The 74-year-old former civil servant's message of social unity and freedoms gave way to desk-thumping speeches about the need to immediately expel migrants and fight terrorism.
His right-wing turn was targeted at nationalists who emerged as the big winners of the parallel parliamentary elections.
Analysts doubted Kilicdaroglu's gamble would work.
His informal alliance with a prokurdish party that Erdogan portrays as the political wing of banned militants left him exposed to charges of working with "terrorists."
Erdogan is lionized by poorer and more rural swathes of Türkiye's fractured society because of his promotion of religious freedoms and modernization of once-dilapidated cities in the Anatolian heartland.
Türkiye's unravelling economy will pose the most immediate test for Erdogan.
He went through a series of central bankers to find one who would enact his wish to slash interest rates at all costs in 2021.
"The day of reckoning for Türkiye's economy and financial markets may now just be around the corner," analysts at Capital Economics warned.