Erdogan wins re-election as Turkey president

Erdogan has won a new five-year term in office as Turkey president

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the first round of a presidential poll.

Election authority chief Sadi Guven said the president had “received the absolute majority of all valid votes”.

State media reports put Mr Erdogan on 53% with 99% of votes counted, and his closest rival Muharrem Ince on 31%.

The opposition is yet to officially concede but said it would continue its democratic fight “whatever the result”.

It had earlier cast doubt on results being broadcast by state media. Final results will be announced on Friday.

The polls were the most fiercely fought in many years, and Mr Erdogan is set to assume sweeping powers under a new executive presidency.

He has presided over a strong economy and built up a solid support base by investing in healthcare, education and infrastructure.

But the 64-year-old has also polarised opinion, cracking down on opponents and putting some 160,000 people in jail.

Mr Erdogan gave a triumphant victory speech from the balcony of his party’s headquarters in the capital Ankara at 03:00 (00:00 GMT), declaring: “The winner of this election is each and every individual among my 81 million citizens.”

There are reports that Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate Mr Ince has admitted defeat in a message to a journalist, though this has not been confirmed.

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Earlier on Sunday he accused state-run news agency Anadolu of “manipulation” over its reporting of vote-share figures.

Mr Ince tweeted that he would make a statement at 12:00 (09:00 GMT) on Monday.

There were another four candidates on the presidential ballot, none of whom appears to have won more than 8.4% of the vote.

Erdogan has been President of Turkey since 2014 and is also serving as the de facto dictator of Turkey since 2002.

He previously served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2014 and as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998.

He founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001, leading it to general election victories in 2002, 2007 and 2011 before standing down upon his election as President in 2014.

Coming from an Islamist political background and as a self-described conservative democrat, he has promoted socially conservative and liberal economic policies in his administration.

He has also been accused of funding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.