ANKARA, Turkey (AP) \u2014 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A third term gives Erdogan, a polarizing populist, an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond the capital of Ankara. Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more than 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The head of Turkey\u2019s electoral board confirmed the victory, saying that even after accounting for outstanding votes, the result was another term for Erdogan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In two speeches \u2014 one in Istanbul and one in Ankara \u2014 Erdogan thanked the nation for entrusting him with the presidency for five more years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe hope to be worthy of your trust, as we have been for 21 years,\u201d he told supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul in his first comments after the results emerged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying \u201cbye bye bye, Kemal,\u201d as supporters booed. He said the divisions of the election are now over, but he continued to rail against his opponent as well as the former co-leader of the pro-Kurdish party who has been imprisoned for years over alleged links to terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe only winner today is Turkey,\u201d Erdogan said to hundreds of thousands gathered outside the presidential palace in Ankara, promising to work hard for Turkey\u2019s second century, which he calls the \u201cTurkish century.\u201d The country marks its centennial this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kilicdaroglu campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan\u2019s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies and to improve ties with the West. He said the election was \u201cthe most unjust ever,\u201d with all state resources mobilized for Erdogan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until real democracy comes to our country,\u201d he said in Ankara. He thanked the more than 25 million people who voted for him and asked them to \u201cremain upright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people have shown their will \u201cto change an authoritarian government despite all the pressures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters of Erdogan took to the streets to celebrate, waving Turkish or ruling party flags, honking car horns and chanting his name. Celebratory gunfire was heard in several Istanbul neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan\u2019s government vetoed Sweden\u2019s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from a U.S.-led fighter-jet project. But Turkey also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one can look down on our nation,\u201d Erdogan said in Istanbul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Steven A. Cook, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Turkey was likely to \u201cmove the goal post\u201d on Sweden\u2019s membership in NATO as it seeks demands from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also said Erdogan, who has spoken about introducing a new constitution, was likely to make an even greater push for it to lock in changes overseen by his conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan, who has been at Turkey\u2019s helm for 20 years, came just short of victory in the first round of elections on May 14. It was the first time he failed to win an election outright, but he made up for it Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congratulations poured in from world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose countries are at war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin said Erdogan\u2019s victory was \u201cclear evidence\u201d that the Turkish people support his efforts to \u201cstrengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyy said he was counting on building the partnership between the two countries and strengthening cooperation \u201cfor the security and stability of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. President Joe Biden said he looked forward \u201cto continuing to work together as NATO allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two candidates offered sharply different visions of the\u00a0country\u2019s future, and its recent past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics blame Erdogan\u2019s unconventional economic policies for skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis. Many also faulted his government for a slow response to the earthquake that\u00a0killed more than 50,000\u00a0people in Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his victory remarks, Erdogan said rebuilding the quake-struck cities would be his priority, and he said a million Syrian refugees would go back to Turkish-controlled \u201csafe zones\u201d in Syria as part of a resettlement project being run with Qatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam\u2019s profile in Turkey, which was founded on secular principles, and for raising the country\u2019s influence in world politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Ankara, Erdogan voter Hacer Yalcin said Turkey\u2019s future was great. \u201cOf course Erdogan is the winner … Who else? He has made everything for us,\u201d Yalcin said. \u201cGod blesses us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan, a 69-year-old Muslim, is set to remain in power until 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Turkey\u2019s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014, and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first half of Erdogan\u2019s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to begin talks to join the European Union, and economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his own hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Turkey says was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan\u2019s rival was a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People\u2019s Party, or CHP, since 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a frantic effort to\u00a0reach out to nationalist voters\u00a0in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back refugees and ruled out peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Kurdish-majority Diyarbakir, 37-year-old metalworker Ahmet Koyun said everyone would have to accept the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is sad on behalf of our people that a government with such corruption, such stains, has come into power again. Mr. Kemal would have been great for our country, at least for a change of scene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday also marked the 10th anniversary of the start of mass anti-government protests that broke out over plans to uproot trees in Istanbul\u2019s Gezi Park. The demonstrations became one of the most serious challenges to Erdogan\u2019s government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan\u2019s response to the protests, in which\u00a0eight people were convicted, was a harbinger of a crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who received the backing of the country\u2019s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with \u201cterrorists\u201d and of supporting what they described as \u201cdeviant\u201d LGBTQ rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his victory speech, he repeated those themes, saying LGBTQ people cannot \u201cinfiltrate\u201d his ruling party or its nationalist allies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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