Turkey’s Erdogan arrives at presidential palace in Ankara

Erdogan wins Turkey's election

By Joshua Berlinger, Nadeen Ebrahim and Tamara Qiblawi, CNN

Updated 8:05 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023
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5:55 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Turkey’s Erdogan arrives at presidential palace in Ankara

From CNN's Gul Tuysuz in Istanbul

Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wait for him to make a speech at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on May 28.
Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wait for him to make a speech at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on May 28. Presidential Press Office/Handout/Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived at the Presidential Palace to address massive crowds of supporters after being elected to his third term in power, according to a statement from the country’s presidency.

Erdogan began the evening in Istanbul and greeted supporters outside his residence there. Before the results were made official, Erdogan appeared to take a victory lap, singing in celebration on top of a campaign bus. Addressing a large crowd of jubilant supporters waving the Turkish flag, he thanked the nation.

He later hopped on a plane for the 45-minute flight from Istanbul to Ankara, the capital.

After he was officially declared the winner, Erdogan tweeted: “With the great Turkey victory … let the century of Turkey begin!”

4:13 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

More world leaders congratulate Erdogan on his victory

From CNN's Duarte Mendonca, Joseph Ataman, Mariya Knight and Eyad Kourdi

Leaders from around the globe continue to send their congratulations to Erdogan.

Here are some of the latest messages:

  • Brazil: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wished Erdogan "a good mandate, with a lot of work for the best of the Turkish people."
  • Egypt: A spokesperson for Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the Egyptian president sent a congratulatory message to Erdogan.
  • Sweden: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson tweeted his congratulations and said the two countries' "common security is a future priority." Erdogan has blocked Stockholm’s membership to NATO over accusations that Stockholm is harboring militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Sweden has refused Turkey’s repeated requests to extradite individuals Ankara describes as terrorists, arguing that the issue can only be decided by Swedish courts.
  • Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted his well-wishes to Erdogan and "we count on the further strengthening of the strategic partnership for the benefit of our countries, as well as the strengthening of cooperation for the security and stability of Europe." Erdogan has been an important powerbroker and go-between for Kyiv and Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
4:03 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Erdogan wins a third term as president with about 52% of the vote

President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters in Istanbul on May 28.
President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters in Istanbul on May 28. Murad Sezer/Reuters

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will extend his 20 years at the top of Turkey's political landscape after winning the country's presidential runoff election on Sunday.

Erdogan received 27,513,587 votes, or 52.14% of the votes cast, according to figures released by the country's Supreme Election Council, beating challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu who had 25,260,109 votes, or 47.86%.

3:41 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Breaking news: Erdogan declared winner of Turkey's runoff election

Turkey's Supreme Election Council has declared President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the winner of Turkey's presidential runoff election on Sunday.

3:23 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Erdogan rival Kilicdaroglu vows to continue struggle until there is “real democracy”

From Yusuf Gezer in Istanbul

Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu delivers a speech at the CHP headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on May 28.
Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu delivers a speech at the CHP headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on May 28. Burak Kara/Getty Images

Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu said he would continue to fight for “real democracy” in Turkey in a speech from his party headquarters in Ankara.

In this election, the will of the people to change an authoritarian government became clear despite all the pressures," Kilicdaroglu said.

Although the address had echoes of a concession speech, Kilicdaroglu did not outright admit defeat. However, he said what “truly makes me sad is the hard days ahead for our country."

Kilicdaroglu also referenced allegations that Erdogan galvanized his supporters by hurling unfounded claims at his opponents. Erdogan has accused Kilicdaroglu of colluding with Kurdish terror groups and repeatedly referred to the opposition leader — a member of the liberal Muslim Alevi minority — as a not-good-enough Muslim.

“This was the most unfair election period in our history … We did not bow down to the climate of fear,” Kilicdaroglu said.

 

4:03 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Russia's Putin joins chorus of world leaders congratulating Erdogan

From CNN’s Duarte Mendonca, Mia Alberti, Sahar Akbarzai, Shafi Kakar and Eyad Kourdi

Russian President Vladimir Putin joined a chorus of world leaders congratulating Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday over the runoff election results, although votes are still being counted and official results have yet to be released.

"The victory in the elections was a natural result of your selfless work as head of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the Turkish people's support for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy," Putin said in a statement.

Though Turkey is a member of the NATO alliance that Russia views as an existential threat, Erdogan and Putin have what the Turkish President called a "special" relationship. Erdogan said in an exclusive interview ahead of the presidential election runoff that the two nations "need each other in every field possible."

Putin is one of several world leaders who have congratulated Erdogan as results have started come in.

Here are some of the messages Erdogan has received so far:

  • Afghanistan: The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted a congratulations message.
  • Algeria: President Abdelmadjid Tebboune wished Erdogan the "warmest and most sincere congratulations" on behalf of himself and the Algerian people.
  • Armenia: Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan congratulated Erdogan on Twitter and said he was "looking forward to continuing working together towards full normalization of relations between our countries." The two nations have historically had frosty diplomatic relations, in part due to Turkey's refusal to recognize the mass killings of Armenians in World War I as genocide. Turkey maintains that the deaths occurred in wartime and that there were losses on both sides.
  • Azerbaijan: President Ilham Aliyev made a congratulatory phone call to President Erdogan, who also accepted an invitation to visit Azerbaijan.
  • France: President Emmanuel Macron tweeted his congratulations to Erdogan in French and Turkish, highlighting the "immense challenges" the two nations must face together.
  • Hungary: Prime Minister Viktor Orban applauded Erdogan's "unquestionable" electoral victory.
  • Iran: President Ebrahim Raisi congratulated Erdogan and wished for the continuation of the two nations' "friendly relations," which will "will further strengthen and the close cooperation between the two countries will provide more suitable conditions for strengthening the peace and stability and development of the region."
  • Pakistan: Prime Minister Shehbaz Shari said Erdogan's win was "significant in so many ways" and praised the Turksih president for being "one of few world leaders whose politics has been anchored in public service" and a "pillar of strength for the oppressed Muslims and a fervent voice for their inalienable rights."
  • Qatar: Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani tweeted a congratulatory message to Erdogan and wished him success in his new term.
  • Uzbekistan: President Shavkat Mirziyoyev congratulated Erdogan over a phone call.

3:36 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Celebrations underway in Turkey as nation waits for official results

From CNN's Nada Bashir and Zeena Saifi in Istanbul

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate in Istanbul's Taksim Square on May 28.
Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate in Istanbul's Taksim Square on May 28. Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images

Official election results have yet to come in, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's supporters have already begun celebrating in Istanbul.

In Taksim Square, people gathered chanted Erdogan's name and "God is Great."

Outside the Istanbul headquarters for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, hundreds of people began pouring in after the first round of preliminary results showed Erdogan in the lead. Some came with children, while others waved flags, honked car horns and set off flares and fireworks.

Erdogan supporters gather outside the AKP headquarters after preliminary results showed him in the lead on May 28.
Erdogan supporters gather outside the AKP headquarters after preliminary results showed him in the lead on May 28. Nada Bashir/CNN

Erdogan supporters celebrate outside the AKP headquarters in Istanbul on May 28.
Erdogan supporters celebrate outside the AKP headquarters in Istanbul on May 28. Hannah McKay/Reuters

Erdogan supporters celebrate in Istanbul on May 28.
Erdogan supporters celebrate in Istanbul on May 28. Khalil Hamra/AP

2:14 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

An Erdogan win would be a "Pyhrric victory," one of Kilicdaroglu's advisers tells CNN

From CNN's Tamara Qiblawi in London

Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have taken to the streets to celebrate the Turkish leader’s lead in the preliminary vote count of Sunday’s presidential runoff.

But the gap between Erdogan and his rival Kemal Kilicdaraglou is narrow, despite Erdogan having won the endorsement of the race’s third-place candidate Sinan Ogan, analysts say.

"This is not a crushing defeat for those who wanted change," Turkey expert Asli Aydintasbas told CNN's Becky Anderson. "We are once again looking at a divided country ... both camps want entirely different things for Turkey.”

Erdogan has presided over high inflation and a cost of living crisis, a situation blamed largely on the president’s unorthodox economic policies. His opponents say his control over state resources and affiliation with the country’s media helped sway the vote in his favor.

Mehmet Karli, adviser to Kilicdaroglu, called Erdogan's apparent election win a "pyrrhic victory" accusing the president of fueling tensions during the election.

"It does appear that President Erdogan has won these elections. But it would be a mistake to call this a victory. Perhaps a Pyrrhic victory is a better term to describe this situation," Karli said.

2:55 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Erdogan declares victory with post-election speech thanking voters

From Yusuf Gezer in Istanbul

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a crowd of supporters in Istanbul on May 28.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a crowd of supporters in Istanbul on May 28. Murad Sezer/Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed a large crowd of visitors outside his residence in Istanbul, declaring victory despite the fact that no official result has been declared in Sunday's presidential runoff election.

“I would like to thank each and every member of my nation who gave us the responsibility of governing our country for five years with their choice,” Erdogan said after singing atop a bus nearby surrounded by his supporters.
“Hopefully, we will be worthy of your trust as it has been for 21 years."

Erdogan also thanked the nation for giving Turkey a "day of democracy."

"We completed the second round of the presidential election with the favor of our nation. I would like to express my gratitude to my nation for giving us a day of democracy," Erdogan said.
“The winners of both the 14 May elections and the 28 May elections are all our 85 million citizens."

Erdogan is leading challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the latest official tally from Turkey's Supreme Election Council. With about 75.42% of the vote counted Erdogan is leading Kilicdaroglu by 53.41% to 46.59%.