Turkey: Erdogan wins presidential election, extends rule to 3rd decade

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called for national unity after winning a historic run-off election that extended his two decades of transformative but divisive rule until 2028. On his way to his most difficult electoral victory, Erdogan managed to overcome the country's worst economic crisis in a generation and the most potent opposition alliance ever to face his Islamic-rooted party.

• The longest-serving leader of Turkey was put to the test like never before in what was widely regarded as the country's most consequential poll in its almost 100-year history as a post-Ottoman republic.
• Reportedly, the near-complete election results claimed Erdogan managed to beat his secular opposition challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, by only four percentage points, with Erdogan obtaining 52% of the vote and Kilicdaroglu 48%.

In two separate speeches in Ankara and Istanbul after his win, Erdogan thanked the nation for showing their faith in him with the presidency for five more years. "We hope to be worthy of your trust, as we have been for 21 years," the 69-year-old reportedly told his supporters on a campaign bus outside his residence in Istanbul.

While ridiculing his challenger after the win, Erdogan said, "Bye bye bye, Kemal (sic)," as supporters reportedly started to boo. Furthermore, the 69-year-old also stated that the divisions of the poll are now over, but he continued to attack his opponent and the former co-leader of the pro-Kurdish party, who has been imprisoned for years for alleged ties to terrorism.

Numerous supporters of Erdogan took to the streets to celebrate the win, waving the ruling party flags or Turkish flags, chanting his name, and honking car horns. According to the news agency Association Press (AP), celebratory gunfire was also heard in numerous neighborhoods of Istanbul. Hundreds gathered outside the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's Istanbul headquarters as well to celebrate the win.

Notably, Sunday also marked the 10th anniversary of the mass anti-government protests that broke out over plans to uproot trees in Istanbul's Gezi Park. The demonstrations soon became one of the greatest obstacles for the Erdogan-led government. The 69-year-old's response to the agitations, in which eight individuals were convicted, foreshadowed a crackdown on freedom of expression and civil society.