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Sunday, June 24, 2018

Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins re-election in historic Turkish polls Sunday June 24,2018

Turkey is going to the polls on Sunday June 24,2018, voting simultaneously in parliamentary and presidential elections for the first time in the country's history,, in line with last year's constitutional changes that will transform the country's parliamentary system to an executive presidential one.

More than 56 million voters will be able to cast their ballots in more than 180.000 ballot boxes across Turkey.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won the 2018 Turkish Presidential Election electoral officials have said, in a result that will allow him to keep his seat with increased powers and become Turkey's first executive president.

With 97.7 percent of ballots counted, Erdogan received on Sunday June 24,2018 more than half the votes required to secure an outright victory, Sadi Guven, the head of the Supreme Election Committee (YSK), told

Erdogan's closest rival, Muharrem Ince, of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), received 30.8 percent of the votes, according to Anadolu.

He was followed by Selahattin Demirtas, of the pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (HDP), at 8.1 percent and debutante right-wing IYI (Good) Party's Meral Aksener, at 7.4 percent.

"Our democracy has won, the people's will has won, Turkey has won," Erdogan told a crowd of enthusiastic supporters in the capital, Ankara, thanking the Turkish citizens who cast their ballots in an election that saw a record turnout of 87 percent.

The 64-year-old also declared victory for the People's Alliance, a bloc between his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), saying they had won a parliamentary majority in the legislative elections, also held on Sunday June 24,2018

Before heading to Ankara, Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for more than 15 years as prime minister and president, had also addressed a crowd of cheering, flag-waving supporters from the top of a bus in the country's largest city of Istanbul.

The voting marked the first time Turkish voters cast their ballots in simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, in line with the constitutional changes approved in a referendum last year that will transform the country's parliamentary system to an executive presidential one.

The new system is set to hand the next president significant executive powers, as well as abolish the prime ministry and remove the monitoring role of parliament, among others.

In the new era, the presidential office will have the power to appoint vice presidents, ministers, high-level officials and senior judges. The president will also be able to dissolve parliament, issue executive decrees, and impose a state of emergency.

On the parliamentary front, Erdogan's AK Party got 42.4 percent of the votes, while its far-right MHP secured 11.2 percent.

The two parties are predicted to claim 293 and 49 seats in the 600-member parliament respectively, with almost all of the ballot boxes opened, according to Anadolu. Erdogan was their joint presidential candidate.

A majority of 360 votes in parliament are required to take a constitutional change to a referendum in the new executive presidential system.

The opposition CHP and IYI parties, along with the ultraconservative Felicity Party (SP), formed the diverse Nation Alliance to challenge Erdogan in the parliamentary polls.

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