ANKARA (Reuters) - Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey’s presidential election on Sunday, the head of the country’s electoral body said, overcoming the biggest electoral challenge to his rule in a decade and a half.

Electoral board Chairman Sadi Guven said that with more than 97 percent of votes counted, Erdogan had an absolute majority. Unofficial results broadcast on Turkish television also gave his ruling party and its alliance partner a majority in parliament.

The main opposition party did not immediately concede defeat. But after initially saying Erdogan would fall well short of a first-round victory, it said simply it would continue its democratic struggle “whatever the result”.

“Starting tomorrow, we will start working to realize the promises we made our people,” Erdogan told flag-waving supporters in a victory speech delivered from the balcony of his ruling AK Party’s headquarters in Ankara shortly after 3 a.m.

He also pledged that authorities, who have waged a nationwide crackdown since a failed military coup two years ago, would act more decisively against terrorist organizations.

Erdogan, 64, the most popular but also the most divisive politician in modern Turkey, added that Turkish forces would continue to “liberate Syrian lands” so that the 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey could return home safely.

Sunday’s vote ushered in a powerful new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan and backed by a small majority of Turks in a 2017 referendum. Critics say it will further erode democracy in the NATO member state and entrench one-man rule.

Erdogan’s victory paves the way for another five-year term. Under the new constitution, he could serve a further term from 2023, taking him to 2028.

Related Coverage Erdogan says Turkey will continue advancing in Syria

An unexpectedly strong showing by the AK Party’s alliance partner, the nationalist MHP, could translate into the stable parliamentary majority that Erdogan seeks in order to govern freely.

“This sets the stage for speeding up reforms,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek tweeted of the results.

The lira, which has lost about a fifth of its value against the dollar this year, firmed more than 1 percent in early trading in Asia on hopes of a stable working relationship between the president and parliament. It reached 4.587 lira to the dollar at 12:17 a.m. (2117 GMT) before easing slightly.

OPPOSITION DOUBTS

Erdogan’s main presidential rival, Muharrem Ince of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), had urged election monitors to remain at polling stations to help ensure against possible election fraud, as final results came in from large cities where his party typically performs strongly.

With 99 percent of votes counted in the presidential race, Erdogan had 52.5 percent, well ahead of Ince’s 31 percent, broadcasters said.

The opposition raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the figures released by state-run Anadolu news agency, the sole distributor of the official vote tally.

But an opposition platform collating its own vote tally from monitors based at polling stations around the country broadly confirmed the Anadolu figures.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan greet supporters gathered in front of the AKP headquarters in Ankara, Turkey June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Opposition parties and NGOs had deployed up to half a million monitors at ballot boxes to try to prevent possible electoral fraud. They said election law changes and fraud allegations in the 2017 referendum raised fears about the fairness of Sunday’s elections.

Erdogan said there had been no serious voting violations.

In Sunday’s parliamentary contest, the Islamist-rooted AK Party won 42 percent and its MHP ally 11 percent, based on 99 percent of votes counted, broadcasters said.

In the opposition camp, the CHP had 23 percent and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) 11 percent - above the threshold it needs to reach to enter parliament. The opposition nationalist Iyi (Good) party received 10 percent.

Election turnout nationwide was very high at around 87 percent for both contests, the state broadcaster said.

Erdogan argues that his new powers will better enable him to tackle the nation’s economic problems and crush Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey and in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

Investors would welcome the prospect of a stable working relationship between the president and the new parliament, although they also have concerns about Erdogan’s recent comments suggesting he wants to take greater control of monetary policy.

Erdogan has declared himself an “enemy of interest rates”, raising fears he will pressure the central bank to cut borrowing costs after the election despite double-digit inflation.

He brought forward the elections from November 2019, but he faced an unexpectedly feisty challenge from Ince, a former physics teacher and veteran CHP lawmaker, who galvanized Turkey’s long-demoralized and divided opposition.

Slideshow (30 Images)

Turkey held Sunday’s elections under a state of emergency declared after the failed military coup in July 2016 that Erdogan blamed on his former ally, U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

It limits some freedoms and allows the government to bypass parliament with decrees, although Erdogan says he will soon lift the measure.

Since the coup attempt, Erdogan has waged a sweeping crackdown on Gulen’s followers in Turkey, detaining some 160,000 people, according to the United Nations.

Critics, including the European Union, which Turkey still nominally aspires to join, say Erdogan has used the crackdown to stifle dissent. He says his tough measures are needed to safeguard national security.</s>The early results from the first round of Turkey's presidential elections showed incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan leads with 54 percent with 32.4 percent of the total votes counted.

Meanwhile, the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) candidate Selahattin Demirtaş has won 7.2 percent and the newly formed Good Party's (İP) presidential candidate Meral Akşener gets 4.9 percent of the votes.</s>Voter shifting between alliances to be limited in Turkey's elections, experts say

What comes after the Turkish elections?

Presidential and parliamentary elections: Nation goes to the polls

Polls have closed in Turkey's high-stakes presidential and parliamentary elections, with 56,322,632 registered voters and 180,065 ballot boxes across the country.

Voters began gathering at polling centers early on Sunday to cast their ballots in the elections that complete Turkey's transition to a new executive presidential system that was approved in a referendum last year.

Voting started at 8 a.m. local time (0500GMT) and continued through 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT).

Turkey's justice minister said Sunday that voting continues peacefully across the country.

"Until now, we have not received any information regarding any disruption in the elections. Everybody is casting their votes in peace," Abdulhamit Gül told reporters after casting his vote in southeastern Gaziantep province.

Voters will be able to cast their ballots after they show their ID cards or any other official identification document.

It is forbidden to enter the voting booth with photo or video cameras and mobile phones.

Voters are casting two separate ballot papers in the same envelope -- one for the presidential and one for the parliamentary elections.

Eight political parties are participating in the parliamentary elections that include the Justice and Development (AK) Party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), the Free Cause (Huda-Par) Party, the newly formed Good (IYI) Party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Felicity (Saadet) Party and the Patriotic (Vatan) Party.

For the first time in Turkish history, political parties went to elections by forming alliances.

Turkey's ruling AK Party and the MHP formed an alliance (People's Alliance) while the CHP, the IYI Party and the Felicity Party constituted another (Nation Alliance).

A bill, submitted by the ruling AK Party and the MHP in February, stated that a political party could back another during elections.

In general elections, a political party must receive 10 percent of the votes nationwide for any of its candidates to win a seat in parliament. Now, only the alliance needs to pass the 10-percent threshold in order for the parties to claim seats in parliament.

Ballots are bearing the name of the alliance juxtaposed to that of the candidates whose parties have decided to proceed with forging an alliance.

Six candidates are running for president: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the alliance (People's Alliance) formed by Turkey's ruling AK Party and the MHP, Muharrem Ince for CHP, Meral Akşener for the Good (IYI) Party, Temel Karamollaoğlu for the Felicity (Saadet) Party, Selahattin Demirtaş for HDP, and Doğu Perinçek for the Patriotic (Vatan) Party.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Sunday that no discrepancies were reported during the elections as of early afternoon.

The delegation started its on-site observation in Lieutenant Kalmaz Primary School in the capital Ankara.

Speaking to reporters, Ambassador Audrey Glover, head of the election observer delegation, said they will continue following the polls closely until they end.

"There are no obstacles to the OSCE delegation, and we continue to observe the election in the methodology we employ all the time," she said.

The delegation will hold a press briefing at the Sheraton Hotel in Ankara at 3 p.m. local time (1200GMT) on Monday.

Some 415 observers from eight international organizations have been deployed to watch Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has sent 234 observers, while the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCEPA) sent 72, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) deployed 35, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) sent 10 observers.

News media organizations are not allowed to broadcast any political advertising, predictions or comments about the elections until 6 p.m. (1500GMT).

Between 6 p.m. (1500GMT) and 9 p.m. (1800GMT), media outlets will only be able to publish official announcements about the elections issued by Supreme Election Council.

Selling alcoholic beverages are banned from 6 a.m. (0300GMT) to 12 a.m. (2100GMT) while consumption of alcoholic beverages is also prohibited in public places.

Foolproof security was ensured across the country during the elections, according to a statement by the Interior Ministry.</s>Polls have opened for Turkey’s high-stakes presidential and parliamentary elections, which could consolidate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hold on power.

Voters began gathering outside polling centres to cast their ballots in the elections which complete Turkey’s transition to a new executive presidential system that was approved in a controversial referendum last year.

Mr Erdogan, 64, is seeking re-election for a new five-year term with vastly increased powers under the new system, which he insists will bring prosperity and stability to Turkey, especially after a 2016 failed coup attempt.

His ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is hoping to retain its majority in parliament.

Mr Erdogan — who has been in power since 2003 — is however facing a more robust and united opposition, which has vowed to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy with strong checks and balances.

It has condemned what it calls Erdogan’s “one-man rule”.

Five candidates are running against Mr Erdogan in the presidential race.

Although Mr Erdogan is seen as the front-runner, he must secure more than 50% of the vote for an outright win. If the threshold is not reached, a runoff could be held on July 8 between the leading two contenders.

Mr Erdogan’s main challenger is 54-year-old former physics teacher Muharrem Ince, who is backed by the centre-left main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and has wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging election campaign.

His rallies in Turkey’s three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir drew massive numbers.

Turkey will also be electing 600 politicians to parliament — 50 more than in the previous assembly.</s>Turkey election: Opposition candidate says Turkey transitioning to one-man rule under election winner Erdogan

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey election: Opposition candidate says Turkey transitioning to one-man rule under election winner Erdogan.</s>Voting is underway in Turkey's high-stakes elections that will complete the country's transition to a new executive presidential system.

Al Jazeera's Priyanka Gupta explains the numbers, the candidates - and why the changes to Turkey's political system are so significant.</s>Politicians cast their ballots on Sunday, as they emphasized participation in Turkey's historic presidential and parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was one of the first politicians to cast his ballot at the Bahar Yıldırım Primary School in western Izmir province's Karabağlar district.

The prime minister, who was welcomed with applause by voters as he entered the school building, chatted with several citizens and posed for photographs.

After casting his ballot, Yıldırım wished a happy election day to everyone, underlining the importance of peace and fraternity among Turkish citizens.

"Turkey will continue moving forward to new targets [and] new horizons in stability and security with the new governing system," he said.

Meanwhile, main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem İnce cast his ballot at the Saffet Çam Middle School in his hometown Yalova in northwestern Turkey before heading to Ankara.

Newly formed Good (IYI) Party's presidential candidate Meral Akşener voted at the Sabancı Primary School in Istanbul's Beylerbeyi district. After casting her ballot, she also wished a peaceful election day to Turkish citizens.

Akşener said that she would follow the election results at IYI Party's headquarters in Ankara, adding that she was "very excited."

Six candidates are contesting at the presidential race while eight political parties, including two alliances, are taking part in the parliamentary elections.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan runs for re-election as the candidate of the People's Alliance, formed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Other candidates in the presidential election race are CHP's Muharrem Ince, IYI Party Chairwoman Meral Akşener, the Felicity Party's (SP) Temel Karamollaoğlu, the Patriotic Party's (VP) Doğu Perinçek and the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş.</s>Polls in Turkey continue peacefully, according to the Interior Ministry.

Foolproof security was ensured across the country during the presidential and parliamentary elections, according to a statement.

Armenian-origin Turkish citizens also cast their votes in Turkey's only Armenian village Vakifli in southern Hatay province.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, some voters in the village expressed their best wishes for the election result.

Village head Berc Kartun said there are 102 voters in the village.

"We hope to have elections free of clashes and accidents," Kartun added.

Voting started at 8.00 a.m. local time (0500GMT) and will continue through 5.00 p.m. local time (1400GMT).</s>ISTANBUL >> President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has never lost an election, is taking a gamble that will consolidate his hold on power in Turkey if he emerges victorious from Sunday’s landmark presidential and parliamentary vote.

But winning the election he called more than a year early might not be as straightforward as he might have hoped.

For the first time, Turkey’s disparate opposition — made up of secularists, nationalists, Islamists and Kurds — is showing a more united front, with some parties joining forces. Meanwhile the economy, to which Erdogan could once point as a shining example of his success in bringing prosperity to his people, is looking increasingly shaky.

“The polls suggest that for the electorate, the economic issues are overtaking security issues,” said Serhat Guvenc, professor at Kadir Has University.

The elections will complete the transformation of Turkey’s political landscape that began with a 2017 referendum to switch from a parliamentary to a presidential system of government. It will concentrate power in the hands of the president, who will be able to form the government, issue decrees and prepare the budget. The prime minister’s position will be abolished.

Critics say the new system will undermine checks and balances on governance. Erdogan counters that the changes are necessary to ensure stability in a country that faces an array of security threats and has a history of political instability, including several coups since the 1960s. Erdogan himself survived an attempted coup in 2016, which led to a sweeping crackdown in response. The state of emergency he declared in the aftermath is still in place today.

“No one can return Turkey to those old days of crisis, chaos, instability, insecurity,” Erdogan said during a campaign speech. “This country does not have a single moment to waste with such fights.”

But outright victory, with Erdogan winning the presidential vote and his Justice and Development party, or AKP, winning the parliamentary ballot, could turn out to be harder than the firebrand president initially wagered.

Five candidates are running against Erdogan for president. The surprise opposition stars have emerged as Muharrem Ince, a 54-year-old former physics teacher with the center-left Republican People’s Party who has run an unexpectedly engaging campaign, and nationalist Meral Aksener, 61, who has formed the Good Party consisting of nationalists and center-right figures.

One presidential candidate, Selahattin Demirtas of the pro-Kurdish HDP, has had to run his campaign from jail, where he is in pre-trial detention on terror charges he says are politically motivated.

Opinion polls have suggested that while Erdogan is still the most likely to win, he might not manage to muster the more than 50 percent of votes needed to avoid a second round on July 8, while the AKP could lose its majority in parliament. That could potentially lead to a situation where Erdogan is president but the opposition controls parliament.

In a nod to the possibility of the AKP and its allied Nationalist Movement Party not managing to win more than 300 of parliament’s 600 seats, Erdogan has indicated he could seek a coalition partner — the first time he has made such a suggestion — although he insisted the chance of this happening is “very, very low.”

The state of Turkey’s economy will be a crucial element of Sunday’s vote, in which about 59 million Turks are eligible to cast ballots.

Economists have been warning of an impending financial crisis, and the cracks are already beginning to show. Turkey’s currency, the lira, has lost more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar since the start of the year, while inflation continues to climb, currently standing at around 12 percent. The current account deficit is widening, and although the economy posted a robust 7 percent growth last year, analysts say it is fueled in part by unsustainable construction of grandiose projects.

“It’s certainly true that the economy is going to be one of the decisive factors in terms of determining the final outcome of these elections,” said Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies. “And in that sense, the economy has turned into a handicap for the ruling party, whereas in the past the economy was an advantage for the ruling party.”

Erdogan favors unorthodox methods of financial management, and an overall win by him could further rattle the economy.

If he wins the presidency and his party wins the parliamentary elections, “the first thing he’d do is cut interest rates which would not only destabilize the Turkish lira but also add to domestic demand to people’s purchasing power and further increase inflation and current account deficit,” said Atilla Yesilada, an analyst at GlobalSource Partners.

“These are extremely critical elections and the outcome will determine whether Turkey’s having a soft landing, which is a gradual deceleration of economic activity towards the normal, or a hard landing which is sort of a plane nosediving out of the sky, i.e. recession and currency crises,” he said.

The pre-election campaign has been somewhat lopsided. City streets are festooned with flags, banners and billboards of Erdogan and the AKP, far outnumbering the other candidates’ posters. Erdogan has also dominated the airwaves, with his speeches — and there are several each day — covered live on practically every television channel. Opposition candidates have complained that coverage of their own rallies is often cut off to switch to an Erdogan speech.

Nevertheless, the opposition is giving Erdogan a run for his money, producing more robust campaigns than in the past. Ince’s rally in the coastal city of Izmir, a bastion of secularism, drew hundreds of thousands Thursday.

The performance of the HDP in the parliamentary election will be critical. Parties must meet a 10 percent threshold to get into parliament, and if the HDP makes it, it could cost the winning party dozens of seats.

Changes in the electoral law that now allow for alliances to be formed also favor smaller parties, allowing them to get into parliament if the alliance as a whole meets the 10 percent threshold.

For many in Turkey, the changes to the political system that Sunday’s election will bring are momentous.

“It’s not only about who the next president of Turkey will be,” said Guvenc, the Kadir Has University professor. “It’s about keeping the game of democracy in Turkey alive.”

Ayse Wieting in Istanbul and Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.</s>ISTANBUL >> Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared victory after unofficial election returns Sunday showed him with enough votes to serve another term that carries new executive powers.

“The nation has entrusted to me the responsibility of the presidency and the executive duty,” Erdogan said in televised remarks from Istanbul after a near-complete count carried by the state-run news agency gave him the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

The presidential election and a parliamentary election also held Sunday, both more than a year early, complete NATO-member Turkey’s transition from a parliamentary system of government to a strong presidential system. Voters approved the change in a referendum last year.

Erdogan, 64, insisted before the election that the expanded powers — which include the authority to impose states of emergency and to issue decrees — would bring prosperity and stability to Turkey, especially after a failed military coup attempt in 2016. A state of emergency has been in place since the coup.

The president’s critics, however, warned that Erdogan’s re-election would cement the grip on power of a leader who they accuse of showing increasingly autocratic tendencies.

Official results were to be declared by the country’s electoral board.

Results carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency with more than 96 percent of ballot boxes counted showed Erdogan winning an outright majority of 52.6 percent, far ahead of the 30.75 percent for his main contender, the secular Muharrem Ince.

Kurdish candidate Selahattin Demirtas, who ran his campaign from prison where he is being held pending trial on terrorism-related charges, was garnering 8.1 percent. He has called the charges trumped-up and politically motivated.

However, Ince said the results carried on Anadolu were not a true reflection of the official vote count by the country’s electoral board. In a tweet earlier in the evening, he said only 37 percent of ballot boxes had actually been counted, as opposed to the more than nearly 90 percent Anadolu was reporting at the time. He accused the agency of “manipulation” of the results.

Erdogan also declared victory for the People’s Alliance, an electoral coalition between his ruling Justice and Development Party and the small Nationalist Movement Party, saying they had a “parliamentary majority” in the 600-member assembly.

The unofficial results for the parliamentary election showed Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, losing its majority, with 293 seats in the 600-seat legislature. However, the small nationalist party the AKP was allied with garnered 49 seats.

“Even though we could not reach out goal in parliament, God willing we will be working to solve that with all our efforts in the People’s Alliance,” Erdogan told cheering supporters outside his official residence in Istanbul.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, was passing the 10 percent threshold required to enter parliament with 11.2 percent. Managing to get into parliament would be a significant for HDP, since nine of its lawmakers, including Demirtas, and thousands of party members were jailed during the campaign.

The party said more than 350 of its election workers have been detained since April 28.

Ince, speaking just after polls closed, warned civil servants involved in the vote count to do their jobs “abiding by the law” and without fear, suggesting they were under pressure by the government. He asked all Turks to be vigilant at polls and not be “demoralized” by what he called the possible manipulation of news.

Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, had faced a more robust, united opposition than ever before. Opposition candidates had vowed to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy with strong checks and balances and have decried what they call Erdogan’s “one-man rule.”

Erdogan is the most powerful leader since the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He remains popular in the conservative and pious heartland, having empowered previously disenfranchised groups.

From a modest background himself, he has presided over an infrastructure boom that has modernized Turkey and lifted many out of poverty while also raising Islam’s profile, for instance by lifting a ban on Islamic headscarves in schools and public offices.

But critics say he has become increasingly intolerant of dissent and opposition. The election campaign was heavily skewed in his favor, with opposition candidates struggling to get their speeches aired on television. Erdogan directly or indirectly controls most of Turkey’s media.

Ince, a 54-year-old former physics teacher, was backed by the center-left opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP. He wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging campaign, drawing massive numbers at his rallies in Turkey’s three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

More than 59 million Turkish citizens, including 3 million expatriates, were eligible to vote. Erdogan called the election more than a year early amid signs the country could be heading toward an economic downturn.

The head of Turkey’s electoral commission said authorities had taken action following reports of irregularities at voting stations in southeastern Turkey. Videos posted on social media appeared to show people voting in bulk at a ballot box in the town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was monitoring the elections with over 350 observers. Election monitors criticized Turkey for denying entry to two monitors who Turkey accused of political bias.

Peter Osusky, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, told The Associated Press all observers “are strongly adhering to so-called code of conduct” regardless of their political opinions.

Recent changes to electoral laws allow civil servants to lead ballot box committees. Ballot papers that don’t bear the official stamps will still be considered valid — a measure that led to allegations of fraud in last year’s referendum.

Citing security reasons, authorities have relocated thousands of polling stations in predominantly Kurdish provinces, forcing some 144,000 voters to travel further to cast their ballots. Some will even have to pass through security checkpoints to vote.

The vote took place under a state of emergency declared after the failed coup attempt, which allows the government to curtail civil rights. Some 50,000 people have been arrested and 110,000 civil servants have been fired under the emergency powers, which opposition lawmakers say Erdogan is using to stifle dissent.
Voters in Turkey go to the polls for a presidential and parliamentary election.