85 Million Turkish Citizens Won the Elections - Erdogan

Türkiye's re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday from Istanbul that the 85 million Türkiye citizens are the winners in the country's national elections.

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Erdogan's statements came in an address to the nation as unofficial results showed him leading with 52.09 percent of the vote with 98.64 percent of ballots counted.

"The 85 million of our citizens are the winners of the May 14 and May 28 elections," he said, expressing his gratitude to the Türkiye people.

"I want to thank each and every member of our nation who once again passed on to us the responsibility of governing the country for the next five years," Erdogan said.

May we have a nation that will give us another victory. Happy Turkish Century. Congratulations on our great Türkiye victory.

The Turkish Electoral Commission confirmed Erdogan's victory, having obtained 52.16% of the votes with 99.85% of the ballots counted against 47.84% of his opponent, the candidate of the opposition National Alliance, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The re-elected President of Türkiye said that the results in Sunday's presidential runoff are a proof that "no one can covet Türkiye's progress. No one can belittle our nation, insult our people. He cannot drag our young people into his own abysmal darkness. No one can point fingers at Türkiye," Erdogan said. 

"Without compromising our democracy, development or goals, we have now opened the doors of the Türkiye Century, but we opened them together," he said noting that "together we have realized the dreams and illusion of all sectors of our nation, of men and women, of young and old, of employees and retirees."

Later, before thousands of people gathered next to the Presidential Complex, in Ankara Erdogan urged the other political forces to put aside any differences and unite around the nation's common goals, such as overcoming the wounds caused by last February's earthquakes and tackling inflation.

He said that from 2013 to date, the country has worked using its financial reserves and without requesting loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a purpose that will be maintained. He said the government will continue to develop a strong economy, betting on investment and employment, based on criteria of confidence and stability.

Regarding foreign policy, he said that they will continue to work for regional stability and to eliminate or mitigate the threat of terrorism. He added that in the coming years, more than one million immigrants who are currently staying in Türkiye will voluntarily return to their countries of origin within the framework of the implementation of resettlement programs.

He also said that educational programs, health care and security will be strengthened internally, all as part of a national effort for the coming of the century of the Republic of Türkiye, which will be held on October 29.

During the first round of elections on May 14, no candidate obtained the required majority of more than 50% to win, leading to a presidential runoff.