Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President, on Sunday, claimed victory in Turkey’s presidential election after a tense run-off to retain office.
Mr Erdogan received 52.1 per cent of votes in the second round of the election, beating his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who polled 47.9 per cent.
However, the official Supreme Election Council is yet to confirm the results of the poll.
On May 14, Mr Erdogan had earlier failed to secure more than 50 per cent of the votes required for an outright victory in the first round. He reached 49.5 per cent in the first round against Mr Kilicdaroglu’s 44.9 per cent.
But Sunday’s vote seals Mr Erdogan’s place in history as he extends his 20-year rule for a further five years even as critics claimed his win would steer his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.
He had already outstripped the 15-year presidency of the Republic of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
As voters await the official announcement, crowds headed to the presidential palace in Ankara to wait for Mr Erdogan’s celebratory speech.
Prior to that, Mr Erdogan appeared outside his residence in Istanbul’s Uskudar, where he sang before thanking an adoring crowd.
“We have completed the second round of the presidential elections with the favour of our people,” Mr Erdogan told the cheering crowd, according to the state-run media, Anadolu news agency.
There was no immediate response to Mr Erdogan’s victory speech from his challenger, Mr Kilicdaroglu.
The election had been seen as one of the most consequential yet for Turkey, with the opposition believing it had a strong chance of unseating Mr Erdogan after his popularity was hit by a cost-of-living crisis.
The two-month election period witnessed one of the most bitter campaigns in recent memory.
Mr Erdogan repeatedly referred to his opponent as being backed by “terrorists” – due to the support offered by the main pro-Kurdish party.
The campaign took on an increasingly nationalist tone, with the opposition, in particular, promising to force Syrians and other refugee populations to leave.
Sunday’s run-off vote was the first time since direct presidential elections were introduced in 2014 that the vote had gone to a second stage.
Mr Erdogan, who came to power in 2003, initially as prime minister, offered a vision of further development, promising to extend the improvements made by his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.