Challenger concedes loss to Erdogan

Warns of unjust election process

ISTANBUL — The primary challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s polls conceded defeat Monday after the powerful incumbent was declared the victor by election officials overnight.

Secularpolitician Muharrem Ince said the entire election process had been “unjust”but that he accepted the results of the vote. An unofficial tally released by the state news agency gave Mr. Erdogan 52.6 percent of the ballots, with Mr. Ince trailingat 30.6 percent.

Turkey’s election council announced early Monday that Mr. Erdogan was the winner, but it did not release a breakdown of the numbers.

At a news conference in the capital, Ankara, Mr. Ince urged Mr. Erdogan to “be the president of” Turkey’s 81 million people but also warned against the dangers of what he called a “one-man regime.”

The election Sunday completed Turkey’s transition to an executive presidency, which eliminates the post of prime minister and gives the president broad governing powers, curbing the authority of both parliament andthe judiciary.

“This is a big threat,” Mr. Ince said of the new system. Mr. Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its rightwing ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), also won a majority in parliamentin the polls Sunday.

“Collectively, we are going to pay the price,” Mr. Ince said of the results. “Turkeyhas cut off its connection todemocratic values.”

The election was one of the most consequential votes here in years and was a critical test for Mr. Erdogan, 64, who sought reelection to another fiveyear term.

But for the first time since he was elected in 2002, he faced a formidable challenger in Mr. Ince, whose charisma and sharp criticism of the president gave him wide appeal. The opposition unified, and Mr. Ince’s election rallies drew millionsacross the country.

Still, it was not enough to break Mr. Erdogan’s grip on power.

His supporters took to the streets in Istanbul and other cities in celebration Sunday night. On Monday, Turkish markets rallied, and the lira, which had tumbled in recent weeks, strengthened againstthe dollar.

In his own news conference in Istanbul on Sunday night, even before he was declared the winner, Mr. Erdogan told supporters that the people had “handed” him the presidency and that Turkey had “given a lesson to the entire world on democracy.”

The results “mean that we’re closer to our goals in democracy and targets in the economy,” Mr. Erdogan said Monday, even as Turkey’s once-booming economy is faltering, in large part over investor concerns about his authoritarian tendencies and desire for greater influence over the central bank.

Voter turnout was recorded at a staggering 87 percent. More than 55 million Turks are registered to vote.

Even the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, passed the 10 percent threshold to enter parliament.