Recep Tayyip Erdogan Successfully Re-elected as President of Turkiye

VIVA – Recep Tayyip Erdogan was successfully re-elected as President of Turkiye on Sunday, defeating opposition leader Kemal Killicdaroglu's runoff vote and stretching his rule into a third decade.

Based on the results of the yet-to-be-certified vote, the Turkish incumbent received 52.14 percent of the vote, while Killicdaroglu received 47.86 percent. The YSK Chairman, Ahmet Yenner told the press in Ankara that 99,42 votes have been opened so far. 

In a speech in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon, Erdogan stated 85 million Turkish citizens were the winners of this year's presidential election. In two speeches – one in Istanbul and one in Ankara – Erdogan thanked the nation for entrusting him as President for another five years. 

“We are not the only winners, the winner is Turkey. The winner is all parts of our society, our democracy is the winner,” Erdogan expressed. 

Erdogan has been in power for 20 years. He has been on duty as President of Turkiye since 2014. Previously, he was Prime Minister from March 14, 2023, to August 28, 2014. 

Erdogan's victory for a third term extends his rule in Turkiye for another 5 years.

More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including around 1.92 million people abroad who had already cast their ballots. Nearly 192,000 ballot boxes were set up across Turkiye.

In the first round on May 14, no presidential candidate broke the 50 percent vote threshold and the election went into a second round, despite Erdogan bagging 49.52 percent of the vote.

On that day, Erdogan's People's Alliance also won the majority of parliamentary seats.