Live updates: Erdogan wins Turkey’s election

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on May 28. Umit Bektas/Reuters

Speaking to throngs of thousands of his supporters outside the presidential palace, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated his election to a third term as president by declaring “it is our democracy who won this election.”

“We are not the only winners, the winner is Turkey. The winner is our nation with all its segments, our democracy is the winner,” he said.
“Now is the time to put aside all the debates and conflicts regarding the election period and unite around our national goals and dreams. We make this call with all our heart.”

Erdogan followed his calls for unity by seemingly poking fun at the opposition CHP party for an electoral move that effectively gave members of allied political parties seats in parliament. During the campaign, Erdogan and his AKP party repeatedly criticized Kilicdaroglu as an inept negotiator.

Inflation: Erdogan said the most urgent topic his government faces is “eliminating the problems caused by price increases caused by inflation and compensating for welfare losses.”

Earthquake recovery: Erdogan said that with the election over, it is time to “allocate all our time and energy to working and serving.”

“Healing the wounds of the earthquake and resurrecting our destroyed cities will continue to be at the top of our priorities,” he said.

Refugee return: Erdogan also vowed to resettle 1 million Syrian refugees who had fled their country due to war.

“To date, we have voluntarily returned nearly 600,000 people to safe areas in Syrian territory. With a new resettlement project we are carrying out with Qatar, we will ensure the return of 1 million more people in a few years,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan, who has previously dismissed calls for comprehensive deportation, told CNN earlier this month that he would  “encourage” around a million refugees to return to Syria. 



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