Erdogan wins Turkey's election

By Joshua Berlinger, Nadeen Ebrahim and Tamara Qiblawi, CNN

Updated 8:05 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023
21 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
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%.

1:48 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Erdogan maintains lead in latest official vote tally

From Yusuf Gezer in Istanbul

Turkey's Supreme Election Council has given another update on the vote count in the country's runoff election to decide its next president.

With about 75.42% of the vote counted, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leads Kemal Kilicdaroglu 53.41% to 46.59%.

Here's a breakdown of the numbers in Turkey and abroad:

Domestic ballots

  • Votes counted: 42.01%
  • Erdogan: 60.75%
  • Kilicdaroglu: 39.25%

Overseas ballots

  • Votes counted: 76.41%
  • Erdogan: 53.35%
  • Kilicdaroglu: 46.65%
1:24 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Erdogan leads Kilicdaroglu in latest official vote tally

From Yusuf Gezer in Istanbul

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Getty Images

Turkey's Supreme Election Council said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the latest preliminary official count of ballots.

The council said 54.6% of all votes have already been counted. Erdogan netted 54.47% of those ballots, while Kilicdaroglu has won 45.53% of them.

The Supreme Election Council will disclose the contest's official results. Most of the results reported so far have been unofficial tallies from Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency.

12:47 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

The vote in Istanbul appears close. Here's what that means

From CNN's Joshua Berlinger

Clerks count ballots in Istanbul, Turkey, after polls closed on May 28.
Clerks count ballots in Istanbul, Turkey, after polls closed on May 28. Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Unofficial results from Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency show a tight race in Istanbul between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

With 85.70% votes in, Erdogan is trailing Kilicdaroglu 51.30% to 48.70% in the city.

Istanbul, with more than 15 million people, is Turkey's largest population center and an important electoral bellwether. While the center-left Kilicdaroglu typically performs better in urban areas than the conservative Erdogan, the race in Istanbul was tight during the election's first round. Kilicdaroglu won 48.56% of the vote there two weeks ago, but Erdogan came in a close second with 46.68%

12:23 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

Erdogan's lead shrinks with more than 90% of votes tallied in unofficial count

Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains a slight lead in his race for a historic third term as Turkey's president. His lead against opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu has, however, dwindled as preliminary results continue to come in from state-run news agency Anadolu.

Here are the latest numbers from Anadolu:

  • Votes counted: 91.55%
  • Erdogan: 52.61%
  • Kilicdaroglu: 47.39%
  • Participation rate: 85.41%

Figures published by Anadolu are unofficial. The official result of the election will be published by Turkey's Supreme Election Council.

12:01 p.m. ET, May 28, 2023

What were voters’ main concerns?

From CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim

A woman casts her vote during Turkey's general election on May 14, in Istanbul, Turkey.
A woman casts her vote during Turkey's general election on May 14, in Istanbul, Turkey. Chris McGrath/Getty Images

High in voters’ concerns is the state of the economy and the damage caused by the earthquake. Even before the February disaster, Turkey was struggling with rising prices and a currency crisis that in October saw inflation hit 85%.

That hit the purchasing power of the public and is “fundamentally the reason why Erdogan’s popularity has been eroded,” said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and chairman of Istanbul-based think-tank EDAM. “That is going to be the major handicap for Erdogan,” he said.

Voters also cast their ballots based on whom they see as more capable of managing the fallout from the earthquake, as well as shielding the country from future disasters, analysts say, adding that Erdogan’s popularity had not taken the expected political impact.

There is a debate about which electoral platform provides the right solution to address these vulnerabilities and enhance Turkey’s resilience to these national disasters,” Ulgen said.

Apart from the economy and the government’s management of Turkey’s frequent natural disasters, voters are likely concerned with Erdogan’s turn away from democracy – something the opposition campaigned to reverse.