Erdogan extends two-decade rule as Turkey President after win in historic runoff polls
Istanbul: Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday appealed to the people to maintain national unity, after winning a historic election and retaining the seat till 2028.
Erdogan won with a 52 per cent majority in the elections, beating his secular opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu by four per cent points.
Erdogan, aged 69 years, has been President of Turkey for two decades and overcame the nation’s worst economic crisis in a generation. He also faced the most powerful opposition alliance against his party, which is rooted in Islam, while fighting the election, reports NDTV.
People expressed their delight at the President’s victory, coming out on the streets and sounding their jubilation.
With huge crowds of supporters gathering all over Turkey, the traffic on Taksim Square, a major point in Istanbul, came to a halt.
Erdogan, meanwhile, led a horde of supporters in celebratory song outside his palace in Ankara.
The President told the crowd that was chanting and waving flags, “We should come together in unity and solidarity. We call for this with all our heart.”
Seventeen-year-old Nisa Sivaslioglu said, “Our people chose the right man. I expect Erdogan to add more to the good things he has already done for our country.”
Messages of congratulation also poured in from across the world.
US President Joe Biden tweeted, “I look forward to continuing to work together as NATO Allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges.”
UN head Antonio Guterres said through a spokesperson that he ‘looked forward to further strengthening the cooperation between Turkiye and the United Nations’.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, said that the outcome of the elections reflected the support from the people for Erdogan’s efforts to strengthen the sovereignty of the nation and to pursue an independent foreign policy.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky expressed a hope of continuing to work with Erdogan ‘for the security and stability of Europe’.
Other leaders from across the world, including former US President Donald Trump congratulated Erdogan on his victory.
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Congress names candidates for 8 Haryana LS seats, fields Kumari Selja, Deepender Hooda
Chandigarh (PTI): The Congress on Thursday announced candidates for eight of the nine Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in Haryana, fielding former Union minister Kumari Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and youth leader Divyanshu Budhiraja, besides two sitting MLAs.
The party has also fielded former MP Jai Prakash and leaders Satpal Brahmachari and Mahendra Pratap, according to the list released late Thursday evening.
The Congress is contesting nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. It has not yet announced its candidate for the Gurugram constituency.
The Aam Aadmi Party, a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, will contest the Kurukshetra seat.
Congress general secretary and former Union minister Selja will contest from the Sirsa (reserved) seat and sitting MLAs Varun Choudhary and Rao Dan Singh from the Ambala (reserved) and the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seats, respectively.
Deepender Hooda, son of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, will enter the fray from Rohtak. He has represented the Rohtak parliamentary constituency three times in the past.
Jai Prakash has been fielded from Hisar, the Congress' Haryana youth wing president Divanshu Budhiraja from Karnal, Satpal Brahmachari from Sonipat and Mahendra Pratap from Faridabad.
