Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the elections held in Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected as Turkey’s president on Sunday and won another five-year term, which will now extend his leadership of the country into a third decade.

The primary election was held on May 14, but a second round was held as none of the candidates could get the 50% vote needed to carry the presidency. In the second round held on Sunday, Erdogan received 52.14 percent of the votes, while his opponent, opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaraoğlu, received 47.86 percent of the votes. Andalou Agency.

“The only winner today is Turkey,” Erdogan said in his victory speech Associated Press. Many supporters applauded him as he thanked those who voted for him, adding: “We will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until true democracy comes to our country.”

Turkey celebrates its centenary in 2023, and Erdogan said he will work hard to put the country first in the next hundred years, which he describes as the “Turkish century”.

Erdogan faced perhaps the biggest challenge of his 20 years in office, but still managed to barely win the election. His victory came despite a series of controversies that initially seemed to sway the Turkish people. Described by The Economist as ruling Turkey in an “increasingly autocratic style”, Erdogan is often seen as one of the world’s best-known strongmen.

Erdogan has led Turkey for a generation, serving as prime minister from 2003 to 2014, and since then as president. He did well in the primary, even though polls showed some disappointment with his presidency. Public opinion has shifted dramatically since his government’s response to a series of earthquakes last February that killed thousands of people. Erdogan has been criticized for the perceived slow response to the natural disaster and the lack of government assistance.

May 28, 2023: This article has been updated with the election results.