(10 Aug 2014) Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey's first direct presidential election Sunday, striking a conciliatory tone toward critics who fear he is bent on a power grab.
Erdogan declared victory in a watershed vote in the country's nearly 91-year history that will ensure the current prime minister remains at its helm for at least another five years.
"Today the national will won once again, today democracy won once again," Erdogan told thousands of flag-waving and cheering supporters in his victory speech in Ankara.
"Those who didn't vote for me won as much as those who did, those who don't like me won as much as those who do," he added.
The three-term prime minister's message of unity was in stark contrast to his mostly bitter, divisive pre-election campaign, when he poured scorn on his opponents.
Erdogan will now have to step down as prime minister and appoint a replacement.
With 99 percent of ballot boxes counted, Erdogan had 51.95 percent of the vote, according to figures from the state-run Anadolu news agency.
The first round victory will allow Erdogan to press ahead with his plans to strengthen the powers of the presidency - which until now was largely a ceremonial post.
Sixty-year-old Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade.
Revered by many as a man of the people who ushered in a period of economic prosperity, he is reviled by others as an increasingly autocratic leader trying to impose his religious and conservative views on a country with strong secular traditions.
Reaction to Erdogan's election win on Sunday was mixed with some opponents expressing disappointment at the results.
Erdogan's main rival, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, had 38.34 percent and the third candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, had 9.71 percent.
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