President Mamnoon Hussain, on behalf of the Government and people of Pakistan, extended heartfelt felicitations to President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his victory in the elections on Monday.
Erdogan on Sunday declared victory in a tightly-contested presidential election, extending his 15-year grip on power in the face of a revitalised opposition.
The president underscored that the large turnout and the peaceful conduct of the parliamentary and presidential elections was a testimony to the strength and vibrancy of Turkey’s democratic values and institutions, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Office on Sunday.
President Hussain also expressed the hope that Turkey would continue on the path of progress and prosperity under the leadership of president Erdogan. He further said that the historic and unparalleled bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey would continue to grow from strength to strength.
Turkish voters had for the first time cast ballots for both president and parliament in the snap polls. The stakes in the election were particularly high because of the enhanced powers for the new president under a new constitution agreed in an April 2017 referendum strongly backed by Erdogan.
Erdogan defeated his nearest rival Muharrem Ince with more than half the vote without needing a second round, initial results showed.
“The unofficial results of the elections have become clear. According to these… I have been entrusted by the nation with the task and duties of the presidency,” Erdogan said at his Istanbul residence.
Erdogan has just under 53 percent in the presidential poll while Ince, of the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP), was on 31 per cent, state-run Anadolu news agency said, based on a 96 per cent vote count.
