He referred to the voluntary return of Syrians. Erdogan calls for solidarity in victory speech

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed – in the early hours of Monday – that the people assigned him the presidency of the republic for another five years, in a speech from the presidential palace in the capital, Ankara.

In his speech winning the second round of Turkey's presidential election, Erdogan called for unity and solidarity "around our national goals and dreams."

The Turkish president, who received about 27.4 million votes, said his country was able to confront "restrictions, obstacles and intrigues, pointing out that "the Turkish people have succeeded in proving their maturity."

Erdogan said – from the balcony of the presidential palace – that "justice is the basis of the king in our rule and we will not change this principle," and stressed that Turkey was able to address restrictions, obstacles and intrigues, and that the Turkish people succeeded in proving their maturity.

He pointed out that the elections are over, and we must now devote our efforts to production, provide services to the people and heal the wounds of the earthquake victims, adding that facing the effects of the earthquake and tackling inflation will not be difficult.

In the speech, which was attended by more than 300,<> people, Erdogan stressed that his country had not requested "any loans from the International Monetary Fund," while the People's Party is calling for loans.

With regard to Syrian refugees, Erdogan stressed that "the voluntary return to their country in a safe manner is an important part of our policy," noting that there is cooperation with the State of Qatar through a new housing project that will secure the return of one million Syrian refugees.

On Sunday evening, preliminary official results showed Erdogan winning a new presidential term, becoming the longest-serving president in the republic's history.

With more than 99 percent of ballots counted nationwide, Erdogan received 52.11 percent of the vote, while his rival, the opposition Umma Alliance candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, received about 25.2 million votes, or 47.89 percent, after more than 52.5 million Turkish citizens cast their ballot boxes.