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Supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul

Photo: MURAD SEZER / REUTERS

Even before Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself went public to declare himself the winner of the election, the first congratulations came from abroad. Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani wrote to the Turkish leader: "My dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, congratulations on your victory."

Probably the first public congratulations were from the head of government of an EU country. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated the "indisputable victory" via Twitter before all the votes were counted.

Taliban hope for continuation of "friendly relations"

The militant Islamist Taliban were also among the early well-wishers. The head of the Taliban government, Mullah Mohammed Hassan Akhund, hopes for a continuation of "friendly relations" with Turkey, as reported by the Tolonews channel. The Islamist group has been back in power since the summer of 2021, but since then it has not been internationally recognized by any state as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

According to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also called Erdoğan to congratulate him on his election victory. The agency also reports a congratulatory phone call with Uzbek President Şevket Mirziyoyev.

After counting almost all the votes, Erdoğan is at 52 percent, his challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu at 48 percent, according to the state news agency. The pro-opposition Anka agency recorded almost the same figures.

Erdoğan has led Turkey for 20 years. Since the introduction of a presidential system in 2018, he has had more power than ever before. It is therefore feared that he will govern even more authoritarian after the election. Turkey is a NATO member, maintains close relations with Russia as well as with Ukraine and is an actor in the Syrian civil war. Accordingly, the election was also followed with great attention internationally.

In the first round two weeks ago, Erdoğan was ahead of Kılıçdaroğlu, but he fell short of an absolute majority. Both therefore competed again in a run-off election. According to Anka and Anadolu, voter turnout was 85 percent for the time being.

asc/ulz/dpa