Tatar congratulates Erdogan for winning elections in Turkey (updated)

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has congratulated Turkey’s president Recep Tayyp Erdogan following his victory in the presidential elections on Sunday.

Erdogan ended up with just over 52 per cent of the vote, securing another five years in power.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate you on your election as the 13th President of the Republic of Turkey, thanks to the free will of the people in a vote conducted in a democratic environment and with great maturity,” Tatar told Erdogan, according to Turkish Cypriot media outlet Haber Kibris.

“I hope that, under your esteemed leadership, Turkey will continue to prosper, and I wish you every success.

“The high turnout at the ballots sets an example for democracies worldwide,” Tatar concluded.

But it was again opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu who garnered the most votes in the north, where 58.1 per cent of registered Turkish votes backed him, against Erdogan’s 41.8 per cent.

Over 140,000 Turkish citizens living in the north had the right to vote. Turnout at the ballots was calculated at 59.2 per cent.

Along with Tatar, other Turkish Cypriot politicians also congratulated Erdogan for his re-election, including ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel, ‘house president’ Zorlu Tore and former ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu, who said Turkey “chose stability by electing Erdogan.”

“I hope that the results of the elections will be beneficial for both our motherland Turkey and for our country,” Ertugruloglu said.

Unal hailed Erdogan’s success in the election as “a victory for democracy.”

“I sincerely congratulate our brothers in Turkey for passing the important test of democracy and I hope that the results of the elections will bring prosperity to our motherland,” he said.

Following the results of the elections, supporters of Erdogan were seen celebrating across the north with Turkish flags and banners, with many also hanging pictures of the re-elected president from their balconies.