President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised the Turkish nation for protecting their free will in the May 14 elections, which saw a turnout of 88.9% according to the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
In a message he posted on Twitter, the president said the Turkish nation protected its free will despite political manipulation attempts by PKK/FETÖ terrorists, social media posts and foreign media outlets. He noted that the elections took place in a feast-like manner, thanks to the foresight of the people, and said the Turkish nation has emerged as the clear winner of the elections.
The president expressed gratitude for receiving 49.51% of the votes and for emerging as the leading election alliance in the Turkish Parliament.
"With its democratic maturity in yesterday's elections, Türkiye has proven that it is one of the countries with the most advanced democracy culture," the president said.
He continued by saying that as someone who has always recognized and respected the will of the people, he respects the election results and pledges to work "around the clock" to fulfill responsibilities until May 28, the day of presidential runoff.
"We will hopefully achieve historical success by surpassing our votes from May 14 and will emerge victorious on May 28," he said.
The People's Alliance, which also includes the staunch AK Party ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the Grand Union Party (BBP) and the New Welfare Party (YRP), a new member of the bloc, emerged victorious in the elections. It secured around 50% of the vote, according to the unofficial results.
More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.76 million who have already cast their ballots abroad and 4.9 million first-time voters.
A total of 191,885 ballot boxes were set up for voters in the country. Every voter cast two ballots, one for the president and the other for lawmakers, who will serve five-year terms.
Voters chose between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is seeking reelection, leading opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Sinan Oğan.
Muharrem Ince, another presidential contender, withdrew from the race earlier Thursday.
However, despite his withdrawal, the YSK – Türkiye's election authority – has affirmed the validity of votes for the candidate.
Over 30 political parties and 150 independent parliamentary candidates competed in the elections.
Five multiparty blocs ran in the elections: the People's Alliance, the Nation Alliance, the Ancestral Alliance, the Labor and Freedom Alliance, and the Union of Socialist Forces Alliance.