Election helps Erdogan tighten grip
Turkey president secures 52.5% of presidential vote
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated winning sweeping new powers on Monday in an election victory, as his main rival accepted the outcome despite complaints over the conduct of the campaign.
A night of triumph for Erdogan saw the man who has dominated Turkey for the past 15 years declared winner of Sunday’s presidential poll without needing a second round and lead his governing party-led alliance to an overall majority in parliament.
Erdogan, whose victory was wider than predicted by many analysts, vowed to rapidly implement the new presidential system agreed in an April 2017 referendum that opponents fear will give him autocratic powers and could keep him in office for another decade.
The new system creates a vertical of power with Erdogan at the top, giving him the power to appoint cabinet ministers and dispensing with the office of prime minister.
The president declared victory in Istanbul before returning to Ankara to deliver a triumphant speech at 3am to tens of thousands of supporters from the balcony of the headquarters of his Justice and Development Party. “Turkey has given a lesson in democracy to the entire world,” Erdogan said, pointing to a turnout of 88%.
His main rival, Muharrem Ince of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), broke an uncharacteristic overnight silence to declare on Monday that he accepted the results.
But Ince, who had faced limited airtime on television in the campaign and a near boycott by state media, said the run-up to the election had been unfair.
“This election was unjust until the results were announced,” he told a news conference at CHP headquarters after ordering out crews from state-run TRT over their campaign coverage. Ince vowed to “continue our fight until Turkey is a Turkey for everyone”, expressing alarm over the powers Erdogan assumes under the new system he described as “a one-man regime”.
Global observers said voters enjoyed a “genuine choice” but decried the lack of “equal” conditions for candidates to campaign. The team led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said procedures were “generally followed”, but pointed to issues over counting and tabulation.
According to results published by the state news agency Anadolu, Erdogan won 52.5% of the vote, with Ince trailing with 30.6%. The results will mean Erdogan, who enjoys sky-high support in parts of the Anatolian heart of the country, improved on his 51.8% score in 2014.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party candidate Selahattin Demirtas came third with 8.4%.
ERDOGAN VOWED TO RAPIDLY IMPLEMENT THE NEW PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM AGREED IN AN APRIL 2017 REFERENDUM