Supporters of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate in the street in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014.ANKARA, Turkey – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey’s first direct presidential election Sunday, striking a conciliatory tone toward critics who fear he is bent on a power grab as he embarks on another five years at the country’s helm.
“I will not be the president of only those who voted for me, I will be the president of 77 million,” Erdogan said in a victory speech delivered from the balcony of his Justice and Development Party headquarters in Ankara.
“Today the national will won once again, today democracy won once again,” he told thousands of flag-waving, cheering supporters. “Those who didn’t vote for me won as much as those who did, those who don’t like me won as much as those who do.”
The three-term prime minister’s message of unity was in stark contrast to his mostly bitter, divisive pre-election campaign, when he poured scorn on his opponents, casted doubt on their Turkish identity and even accused his main challenger of being part of a shadowy coup conspiracy he said was run by a former associate living in the United States.
“I want to build a new future, as of today, with an understanding of a societal reconciliation, by regarding our differences as richness, and by pointing out not our differences but our common values,” he said.