By Burak Bir and Beyza Binnur Donmez
ANKARA (AA) - Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected Türkiye’s president in runoff elections, the chairman of the country's Supreme Election Council (YSK) said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters in the capital Ankara, YSK head Ahmet Yener said that Erdogan won Türkiye’s presidency over opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the second-round runoff vote.
According to unofficial results, the Turkish incumbent won the race with 52.14%, while Kilicdaroglu got 47.86% of the votes, he said, adding that 99.43% of the ballot boxes have been opened so far.
In a speech in Istanbul late Sunday, President Erdogan said Türkiye’s 85 million-strong citizens are the winners in the national elections that concluded today.
More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.92 million who earlier cast their ballots at overseas polling stations.
Nearly 192,000 ballot boxes were set up for voters across Türkiye.
On May 14, no candidate won the required 50% in the first round, triggering Sunday’s runoff, although Erdogan took the lead with 49.52%.
On that day, Erdogan’s People’s Alliance also won a majority in parliament.