Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Monday for unity and solidarity after narrowly winning the second round of the presidential elections that extended his two-decade rule until 2028.
Erdoğan addressed his supporters who gathered in front of the presidential palace, saying, “We’ll leave aside political differences and call for unity and solidarity,” stressing, “We call for that with all our heart”.
Erdoğan stressed that his government will harness all its capabilities in the coming period to revive the economy and rehabilitate the earthquake areas.
Erdoğan explained that the most important issue in the coming days is to solve the problems of increasing prices caused by inflation.
He added, “We’ll continue the stabilization policy and plan to build a productive economy based on investment and job creation”.
He added, “Healing the wounds of the victims of the February 6 earthquake and rebuilding our destroyed cities will be our top priority, and we will also devote all our time and energy to work, complete projects and provide services”.
Regarding the election results, Erdoğan said, “No one lost today, as the winner is 85 million citizens… It’s time for us to gather and unite around our national goals and dreams”.
Erdoğan expressed his permanent respect for the will of the people, indicating that the winner in these elections is Türkiye and democracy.
He touched on the issue of the return of Syrian refugees, saying, “We’ve made it possible for about 600,000 people to return to safe areas in Syria to date”.
Erdoğan added, “We’ll ensure the return of an additional million Syrians within a few years through a new housing project that we are implementing with Qatar”.
In a matter related to the Kurds, he stressed that the release of Selahattin Demirtaş, the former leader of a pro-Kurdish HD party, isn’t possible under our rule”.
Demirtaş has been imprisoned since 2016, awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges he denies committing.
