Joint candidate accepts defeat in presidential elections

The main opposition's joint candidate in Turkey's presidential election has conceded defeat to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu congratulated Erdoğan and wished him success, in a concession speech in Istanbul late Sunday.

He said unofficial results showed he had won about 40 percent of the vote, which he claimed was a significant amount: "Dear friends, I received about 39 percent of the votes and this is crucial as about a month ago when we first started our election campaign people claimed that nobody knew about me" said İhsanoğlu, who argued he was not a loser in the election and considered the figures to be a victory.

Erdoğan was shown as winning about 52 percent, according to the chairman of Turkey's Supreme Electoral Board (YSK).