Turkey’s Erdogan wins presidential re-election

Ankara, June 25: Turkey’s long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, tightening his grip on the nation he has ruled for 15 years. Turkey’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) on Monday announced that with 99.6 per cent of ballots counted, Erdogan had secured 52.5 per cent of the vote in the Sunday election, which would eliminate the need for a runoff, state-run news agency Anadolu reported. Voter turnout was high at almost 87 per cent, according to election officials. His top rival, Muharrem Ince, a lawmaker from the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP), lagged behind at 30.6 per cent. (IANS)