The 69-year-old leader overcame Turkiye’s biggest economic crisis in generations and the most powerful opposition alliance to ever face his Islamic-rooted party to take an unassailable lead.
Near complete results showed him leading secular opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu by four percentage points.
“We will be ruling the country for the coming five years,” Erdogan told his cheering supporters from atop a bus in his home district in Istanbul. “God willing, we will be deserving of your trust.”
Turkiye’s main cities erupted in jubilation as Erdogan spoke.
Traffic on Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square ground to a halt and huge crowds gathered outside his presidential palace in Ankara.
The opposition leader promised to make a statement later Sunday.
Turkiye’s longest-serving leader was tested like never before in what was widely seen as the country’s most consequential election in its 100-year history as a post-Ottoman republic.
Kilicdaroglu cobbled together a powerful coalition that grouped Erdogan’s disenchanted former allies with secular nationalists and religious conservatives.
He pushed Erdogan into Turkiye’s first runoff on May 14 and narrowed the margin further in the second round.
Opposition supporters viewed it as a do-or-die chance to save Turkiye from being turned into an autocracy by a man whose consolidation of power rivals that of Ottoman sultans.
“I invite all my citizens to cast their ballot in order to get rid of this authoritarian regime and bring true freedom and democracy to this country,” Kilicdaroglu said after casting his ballot on Sunday.
Kilicdaroglu re-emerged a transformed man after the first round.
The former civil servant’s message of social unity and freedoms gave way to desk-thumping speeches about the need to immediately expel migrants and fight terrorism.
His right-wing turn was targeted at nationalists who emerged as the big winners of the parallel parliamentary elections.
The 74-year-old had always adhered to the firm nationalist principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — a revered military commander who formed Turkiye and Kilicdaroglu’s secular CHP party.
But these had played a secondary role to his promotion of socially liberal values practiced by younger voters and big-city residents.
Analysts doubted Kilicdaroglu’s gamble would work.
His informal alliance with a pro-Kurdish party that Erdogan portrays as the political wing of banned militants left him exposed to charges of working with “terrorists.”
And Kilicdaroglu’s courtship of Turkiye’s hard right was hampered by the endorsement Erdogan received from an ultra-nationalist who finished third two weeks ago.
Some opposition supporters sounded defeated already, after emerging from the polls.
“Today is not like the last time. I was more excited then,” Bayram Ali Yuce said in one of Istanbul’s anti-Erdogan neighborhoods.
“The outcome seems more obvious now. But I still voted.”
Erdogan is lionized by poorer and more rural swathes of Turkiye’s fractured society because of his promotion of religious freedoms and modernization of once-dilapidated cities in the Anatolian heartland.
“It was important for me to keep what was gained over the past 20 years in Turkiye,” company director Mehmet Emin Ayaz told AFP in Ankara.
“Turkiye isn’t what it was in the old days. There is a new Turkiye today,” the 64-year-old said.
But Erdogan has caused growing consternation across the Western world because of his crackdowns on dissent and pursuit of a muscular foreign policy.
He launched military incursions into Syria that infuriated European powers and put Turkish soldiers on the opposite side of Kurdish forces supported by the United States.
His personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has also survived the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.
Turkiye’s troubled economy is benefiting from a crucial deferment of payment on Russian energy imports that helped Erdogan spend lavishly on campaign pledges this year.
Erdogan also delayed Finland’s membership of NATO and is still refusing to let Sweden join the US-led defense bloc.
Turkiye’s unraveling economy will pose the most immediate test for Erdogan.
Erdogan went through a series of central bankers to find one who would enact his wish to slash interest rates at all costs in 2021 — flouting conventional economics in the belief that lower rates can cure chronically high inflation.
Turkiye’s currency soon entered freefall and the annual inflation rate touched 85 percent last year.
Erdogan has promised to continue these policies and rejected predictions of economic peril from analysts.
Turkiye burned through tens of billions of dollars trying to support the lira from politically sensitive falls ahead of the vote.
Many analysts say Turkiye must now hike interest rates or abandon its attempts to support the lira.
“The day of reckoning for Turkiye’s economy and financial markets may now just be around the corner,” analysts at Capital Economics warned.
Several world leaders have congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after state media reported that he had won re-election in a historic run-off that posed the biggest challenge to his 20 years in power.
With 97 percent of ballot boxes opened, Erdogan reportedly received 52.1 percent of votes in the second round on Sunday, beating his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who won 47.9 percent.
The elections, in which more than 64 million Turks at home and abroad were entitled to vote, took place against a background of a cost-of-living crisis that saw inflation peak at 85 percent in October and earthquakes in February that killed more than 50,000 people.
Erdogan, 69, 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.
NATO member Turkey’s longest-serving leader was tested like never before in what was widely seen as the country’s most consequential election in its 100-year history as a post-Ottoman republic.
Erdogan’s opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, cobbled together a powerful coalition that grouped the president’s disenchanted former allies with secular nationalists and religious conservatives.
“I invite all my citizens to cast their ballot in order to get rid of this authoritarian regime and bring true freedom and democracy to this country,” Kilicdaroglu said after voting in the run-off.Here is how other countries have reacted to the developments:
Pakistan
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a tweet that Erdogan’s re-election was a “historic” one. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has also sent a congratulation message to Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his victory.
Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Erdogan’s victory was evidence that the Turkish people appreciated his selfless work and independent foreign policy.
“The election victory was a natural result of your selfless work as the head of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the support of the Turkish people for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and conduct an independent foreign policy,” Putin said in a message to Erdogan, according to the Kremlin.
“We highly appreciate your personal contribution to the strengthening of friendly Russian-Turkish relations and mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas,” Putin said.
Qatar
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani wished Erdogan success in his new term.
Translation: My dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, congratulations on your victory. I wish you success in your new term, and that you achieve through it what the Turkish people aspire to in terms of progress and prosperity, and progress and growth for our strong bilateral relations.
Libya
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah described Erdogan’s “election victory” as a renewal of the Turkish people’s confidence in the president’s successful projects and policies.
Dbeibah’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity is backed by Turkey against an eastern-based rival government.
Hungary
In a tweet, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Erdogan “on his unquestionable election victory!
Palestine
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh lauded Erdogan and the Turkish people for their “election victory”.
The head of Hamas’ political office Ismail Hanieh said: “I congratulate President Erdogan on winning and I applaud the [Turkish] people’s civilised stance. We look forward to [their] support for our cause and our Jerusalem.”
Children wait for cake as Palestinian supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan celebrate after early exit poll results in Turkey's presidential election, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip May 28, 2023.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev congratulated Erdogan in a phone call and invited him to Baku.
Serbia
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic congratulated Erdogan and the Turkish people for their “election victory”.
Iran
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi called Erdogan’s re-election “a sign of continued valuable trust of Turkish people”.
“Our relationship with Turkey in the next stage will continue on the basis of good neighbourliness and shared interests,” he added.
Afghanistan
Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the caretaker prime minister, said: “I congratulate President Erdogan on winning the Turkish election and on being elected president of Turkey.”
Sudan
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the military commander leading the army against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, congratulated Erdogan on winning a new term.
Malta
Malta’s Foreign Minister Ian Borg said: “Our heartfelt congratulations on this important victory for President Erdogan”.
“He has been a pillar of strength for the oppressed Muslims & a fervent voice for their inalienable rights,” he said
Algeria
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune congratulated Erdogan on winning a new term.
Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he celebrated the “triumph” of “brother and friend” Erdogan.
United Arab Emirates
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was among leaders to congratulate Erdogan in the Middle East, where he has asserted Turkish influence, at times with military power.
