President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has addressed a huge crowd of his supporters from the balcony of his party’s headquarters in Ankara early Monday morning, saying he believes in a victory in the first round, but unlike his opponents will patiently wait for the final results to be announced.
“We believe we can get above 50% in this round,” Erdogan claimed in a speech shortly after 2am, while acknowledging that “both domestic and overseas voting results will take time to come in.”
“But of course we are not like those who try to deceive the nation… by creating a picture where they are far behind but saying they were ahead,” he added.
“We don’t yet know if the elections ended in the first round… If our nation has chosen for a second round, that is also welcome,” he said, stating that “throughout our political life, without exception, we have always respected the decision of the national will.”