Engines petarading and smoke brandished towards the sky, thousands of supporters of the "Reis" paraded Sunday in Turkey after the re-election of the "guide" Erdogan, deafening with their jubilation the supporters of the opposition. Once again, the devout Muslim won at the ballot box, with 52.2% of the votes received in an unprecedented second round of the presidential election according to almost final results, against 47.8% for his social-democratic rival Kemal Kiliçdaroglu who, at 74, did not bring the democratic "spring" he promised.
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The announcement was not yet official that already the name of the head of state echoed in the streets of Istanbul, chanted by thousands of supporters spontaneously gathered in front of the headquarters of the AKP and in front of his Istanbul residence. Three hours after polls closed at 17 p.m., Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory, triumphing on the roof of a bus. His supporters exulted.
Scenes of jubilation in Turkey after Erdogan's victory
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We are happy, God has granted our wishes. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a very great leader, a very powerful leader. And he has made a lot of progress for Turkey," said Soner Ceylan, 52, who works in marketing.
In the crowd too, children and women "very moved" to see re-elected for five years "the only guide", as Semin Uçma says. This 44-year-old housewife says she is "very proud" of her president who "is not only the leader of Turkey" but "a leader of the world," adds the proud supporter also to highlight her three children, model advocated by Tayyip Erdogan during the campaign.
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This man has been in power for 20 years. Everything he has done in 20 years is right in front of our eyes: the defence industry, the Togg (electric) car," said Burak Durmus, 24. "We went to the second round," unlike in 2014 and 2018 when Erdogan was elected president in the first round, he said, "but I knew we were going to win."
In Kahramanmaras, the largest city closest to the epicenter of the February 6 earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people and displaced millions, supporters clustered on a truck also paraded Sunday evening.
In Ankara, where, as in the economic capital, opponent Kemal Kiliçdaroglu came out ahead in the ballot box, Erdogan's supporters are jubilant and victory is displayed in front of a sea of mobile phones.
On the huge façade of the presidential palace, two giant portraits adjoined the Turkish flag: one represents Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the other that of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.
