Congratulations from around the world poured in for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who took a comfortable lead in early exit poll results for the second round of Türkiye’s presidential election on Sunday.

Some 61 million people were able to vote in the historic runoff after a vote mid-month failed to produce a definitive win between Erdoğan and his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

As the Supreme Election Council (YSK) informed, Erdoğan was ahead with 53.41% against Kılıçdaroğlu’s 46.59%, with 75.42% of votes tallied, leaders of Qatar, Libya, Hungary, Palestine and many others wished Erdoğan success in his new term.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was among the first leaders to congratulate Erdoğan. He said the runoff results indicated that the friendly Turkish people supported the president's policies and reform program.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Erdoğan, saying it was evidence the Turkish people appreciated Erdoğan's selfless work and independent foreign policy. "The election victory was a natural result of your selfless work as the head of the Republic of Türkiye, clear evidence of the support of the Turkish people for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and conduct an independent foreign policy," Putin said in a message to Erdoğan, the Kremlin said. "We highly appreciate your personal contribution to the strengthening of friendly Russian-Turkish relations and mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas," Putin said.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also congratulated Erdoğan.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic both congratulated Erdoğan and the Turkish people on the "election victory."

"My dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, congratulations on your victory," Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani tweeted. "I wish our strong relations to further our countries’ development and growth."

While Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban touted his "unquestionable election victory," Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said Erdoğan’s "election victory shows the renewal of people's confidence in his successful projects, policies."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev extended his congratulations in a phone call and invited Erdoğan to pay a visit to Baku.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the win reflects the "trust and confidence of the Turkish people in his dynamic leadership" while Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi called it "a sign of the continued valuable trust of the Turkish people."

Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev, the secretary general of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), also congratulated Erdoğan.

In a message published on his Twitter account, Omuraliev said, "I offer my sincere congratulations to President Erdoğan for his victory in the 2nd round of the Presidential Elections of the Republic of Türkiye, May this result bring the best for the Republic of Türkiye, the brotherly Turkish nation and the whole Turkic world."

Zeljka Cvijanovic, the chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, said in a message: ''I use this opportunity to express my belief that the Turkish people have chosen a path that includes economic prosperity, social well-being as well as regional stability."

On social media, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik hailed Erdogan's victory in the country's first-ever presidential runoff as historic.

"Voters again elected you as their leader! This decision of the voters is not important for the Republic of Turkiye only, but for the world! Congratulations," said Dodik, president of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani also said on social media: ''As you continue to lead Türkiye towards new successes, I look forward to working together to build on our excellent cooperation."

"May the partnership between Kosovo and Türkiye continue to grow stronger," he added in Turkish.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Montenegro's former President Milo Djukanovic also congratulated Erdogan.

Many people in the region gathered in the squares with Turkish flags and banners with Erdogan's name and likeness to celebrate the unofficial election victory.

In the city of Novi Pazar, Serbia, hundreds of people organized celebrations and convoys of vehicles carrying Turkish flags.

"With President Erdoğan, whom I congratulate on his re-election, we will continue to move forward," French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted. "France and Turkey have immense challenges to face together," Macron said, listing the return of peace to Europe, the future of the Euro-Atlantic alliance and the Mediterranean as key topics.

Among other leaders congratulating Erdoğan were Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Egypt's Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The country’s longest-serving leader has surmounted several political crises, including a failed coup attempt in 2016 and cultivated Türkiye into a major military and geopolitical power.

Two deadly earthquakes in early February that piled on top of a cost-of-living crisis threatened to chip away at his support, but Erdoğan has since vowed to attack and tackle the crisis by unleashing government spending, upping minimum wage, boosting pensions and allowing millions to retire early. He has also introduced electricity and gas subsidies and wiped out some household debt.

He has also promised to spend whatever is necessary to reconstruct the vast quake-stricken areas. At each groundbreaking ceremony he attended, Erdoğan assured only his government can rebuild lives following the disaster that leveled cities and killed more than 50,000.

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) won 10 out of 11 provinces in the disaster-affected region – an area that has traditionally supported him – despite criticism that his government’s initial response to the disaster was slow.

In legislative elections, the AK Party-led People’s Alliance walked away with a majority in the 600-seat Parliament, which only gave him an additional advantage in the second round, analysts said, pointing to a desire in most voters to avoid a splintered government.