Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses supporters after winning re-election in Turkey's run-off vote, at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, 28 May 2023. Erdogan won Turkey's presidential run-off and has been re-elected President, according to Turkey's Supreme Election Council. EPA-EFE/NECATI SAVAS
Turkey's incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has secured another five years in office, after narrowly winning Sunday's runoff vote.
Erdogan beat his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu after reaping 52.14% of the votes, Election Board (YSK) head Ahmet Yener said on Sunday.
The Turkish president spoke to supporters shortly after declaring victory, saying voters had given him the responsibility of governing for the next five years.
"The only winner today is Turkey," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Kilicdaroglu condemned the "most unfair election in years," yet pledged to continue "leading this struggle" against the Erdogan regime.
"My real sadness is about the difficulties awaiting the country," he said, without explicitly conceding defeat.
Erdogan calls for 'unity and solidarity'
In a victory speech on Sunday night, the Turkish leader called for "unity and solidarity," vowing to leave all disputes behind and unite the nation behind "national values and dreams."
Erdogan said his narrow win in the race was one for "Turkish democracy" and all of the country's 85 million citizens, declaring "terrorist organizations" as the losers of the vote.
He acknowledged that the country's severely high inflation was the most urgent issue at hand, but said it was not a difficult one to solve, promising inflation would fall and vowing to build a strong economy based on stability and confidence.
What does this mean for Turkey?
Erdogan's latest victory makes him Turkey's longest serving ruler since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the republic a century ago. It also breathes life to his unconventional policies on the economic, domestic and foreign relations fronts.
The leader of Turkey's Islamic-conservative AKP (Justice and Development Party) has based his image on his conservative profile. It was Turkey's conservatives he most successfully appealed to in his latest test, which many saw as Turkey's most consequential elections in 100 years.
During his two-decade reign, he emboldened Turkey's conservative citizens who had long felt marginalized under consecutive secular rulers. He also challenged Western partners and NATO allies on several occasions, most recently by delaying Norway's succession to the alliance and blocking Sweden's altogether.
NATO allies including the US, Germany, the UK and France were quick to congratulate Erdogan on his latest win, joining Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom the Turkish leader continued to maintain ties even after the war on Ukraine.
Perhaps the biggest domestic challenger to Erdogan's popularity were his unorthodox economic policies, which analysts blame for the country's current inflation and cost-of-living crises. The country's volatile economy is also expected to top his list of challenges.
In 2021, Erdogan insisted on slashing interest rates at all costs, driving the local currency into freefall and hiking the annual inflation rate to up to 85% last year.
The Turkish leader has vowed to stay on course, despite warnings from analysts.