ISTANBUL — The primary challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s polls conceded defeat Monday after the powerful incumbent was declared the victor by election officials overnight.
Secular politician Muharrem Ince said the entire election process had been “unjust” but that he accepted the results of the vote. An unofficial tally released by the state news agency gave Erdogan 52.6 percent of the ballots, with Ince trailing at 30.6 percent.
Turkey’s election council announced early Monday that Erdogan was the winner, but it did not release a breakdown of the numbers.
At a news conference in the capital, Ankara, Ince urged Erdogan to “be the president of” Turkey’s 81 million people but also warned against the dangers of what he called a “one-man regime.”
The election Sunday completed Turkey's transition to an executive presidency, which eliminates the post of prime minister and gives the president broad governing powers, curbing the authority of both parliament and the judiciary.
“This is a big threat,” Ince said of the new system. Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its right-wing ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), also won a majority in parliament in the polls Sunday.
“Collectively, we are going to pay the price,” Ince said of the results. “Turkey has cut off its connection to democratic values.”
The election was one of the most consequential votes here in years and was a critical test for Erdogan, 64, who sought reelection to another five-year term.
But for the first time since he was elected in 2002, he faced a formidable challenger in Ince, whose charisma and sharp criticism of the president gave him wide appeal. The opposition unified, and Ince’s election rallies drew millions across the country.
Still, it was not enough to break Erdogan’s grip on power.
His supporters took to the streets in Istanbul and other cities in celebration Sunday night. On Monday, Turkish markets rallied, and the lira, which had tumbled in recent weeks, strengthened against the dollar.
In his own news conference in Istanbul on Sunday night, even before he was declared the winner, Erdogan told supporters that the people had “handed” him the presidency and that Turkey had “given a lesson to the entire world on democracy.”
Voter turnout was recorded at a staggering 87 percent. More than 55 million Turks are registered to vote.
Even the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, passed the 10 percent threshold to enter parliament, despite the imprisonment of its leader and presidential candidate, Selahattin Demirtas.
Erdogan had called surprise snap elections in April, 19 months ahead of schedule, in a move that analysts said was intended to catch the opposition off guard.
[In Turkey, the opposition finally unites in bid to end Erdogan’s dominance]
Under the president, the government has presided over a far-reaching crackdown on dissidents, activists and the media, jailing journalists and opposition leaders, and shuttering independent news outlets. Since a coup attempt nearly two years ago, Erdogan has placed Turkey under a state of emergency, and observers say that interfered with the integrity of the election.
“There’s no justice, no freedom” in Turkey, 35-year-old Habib Celebi, a textile worker and HDP voter in Istanbul, said Sunday.
“We want democracy,” he said. “How can I vote for Erdogan?”
Ince, 54, had condemned what he says are the excesses of the security state under Erdogan and pledged to end emergency rule if elected. His CHP party led the coalition to challenge Erdogan. It is the largest opposition party in parliament.
“If Erdogan wins, your phones will continue to be listened to. . . . Fear will continue to reign,” Ince told the crowd at a rally in Istanbul on Saturday, according to Reuters.
“If Ince wins,” he continued, “the courts will be independent.”
But even as Ince sought to woo working-class voters from Erdogan and his party, the president remained widely popular. His supporters pointed to Turkey’s economic development as evidence of his leadership. Turkey, they said, was languishing in economic doldrums before the AKP swept to power. Now, the country has roads, bridges, airports and hospitals.
“I remember a time when we had to wake up at 4 a.m. to go to the hospital because the lines were so long. I remember when we had to wait five days to get bread,” said 56-year-old Tuncay Tek, who said he voted for Erdogan and the AKP on Sunday.
“Erdogan is a godsend,” he said.
[Kurdish voters could hold the key in Turkey’s hotly contested election]
But not everyone was happy with the economy, which has seen high growth but also rising inflation. The Turkish lira tumbled in recent weeks and has lost 20 percent against the dollar this year. Foreign-exchange reserves are dwindling, and investors worry that the president wields outsize influence over the Central Bank.
“If Erdogan stays in power, the results will be catastrophic,” said Ayse Yildirim, 46, who said she voted for the HDP.
“The country is falling apart, we are in debt, there is a currency crisis,” she said. “I returned to Germany from Turkey 10 years ago. And this is the most important election I’ve participated in.”
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