YSK concludes presidential polls, Erdoğan to take oath Saturday

ANKARA 

The Supreme Election Board (YSK) has finalized the results of the runoff presidential polls in which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came out to be victorious once again by securing 52.18 percent of the votes.

Erdoğan will take oath on June 3 to start his new five-year term as the 13th president.

YSK Chair Ahmet Yener announced the outcome of the May 28 polls at a press conference on June 1. Yener confirmed that Erdoğan received the votes of 27.8 million Turks, corresponding to 52.18 percent of the total votes. His rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nation Alliance’s candidate, garnered the support of 25.5 million Turks, with 47.8 percent of the votes.

The voter turnout was recorded as 85.72 in Türkiye and 56.34 percent abroad, Yener said. “These results will be published in the Official Gazette,” he noted.

After the announcement, Yener paid a visit to Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop and introduced him to the official mandate for Erdoğan’s new five-year term. Şentop will give the mandate to Erdoğan on June 3 before he takes the oath.

Erdoğan will start his job after the ceremony at the parliament. His first address will be the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye, to pay his respect. Later a ceremony will be held at the presidency with the participation of some world leaders.

On the same day, he will announce his new cabinet and his new vice president. Former Vice President Fuat Oktay has been elected as a member of the parliament from the ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Türkiye held simultaneous presidential and parliamentary polls on May 14. As no contender could get more than the required 50 percent plus one vote in the first round, the two most-voted candidates, Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu, competed in the runoff polls on May 28.

This has been Erdoğan’s second and last election for the presidency.