Erdogan Wins Runoff

candidate, the results will not change,” he said.

Erdogan spoke to supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul. “I thank each member of our nation for entrusting me with the responsibility to govern this country once again for the upcoming five years,” he said. “We hope to be worthy of your trust, as we have been for 21 years.” daroglu, was a secular social democrat politician who had emphasized messages of freedom and democracy on the campaign trail. The opposition alliance he represented had promised to roll back constitutional changes introduced after a 2017 referendum that significantly expanded the powers of the presidency, and to bring back the parliamentary system.

He ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying “bye bye bye, Kemal,” as supporters booed.

“The only winner today is Turkey,” Erdogan added. He promised to work hard for Turkey’s second century. The country marks its centennial this year.

“No one can look down on our nation,” he asserted.

On the international stage, Erdogan’s government vetoed Sweden’s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from a U.S.-led fighter-jet project. But it also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis.