TIMES OF ISRAEL
by Elena Becatoros and Suzan Fraser
August 10, 2014

After more than 90 percent of the ballot boxes opened, prime minister ahead with 53.05% of the vote

ISTANBUL (AP) — An unofficial vote count showed Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the country’s first ever direct presidential election in the first round Sunday, ensuring he will remain at the country’s helm for at least another five years. With 93.7 percent of ballot boxes opened, Erdogan was ahead with 53.05 percent of the vote, the count by the state-run Anadolu news agency showed. Erdogan’s main rival, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, was shown at 37.81 percent and the third candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, at 9.14 percent.

“The people showed their will at the polls today,” Erdogan said in a brief speech before thousands of supporters in Istanbul Sunday evening, but stopped short of declaring victory. He said he would head to the capital, Ankara, from where he hoped to address his supporters from his party headquarters late Sunday night, once all results were in.

Anadolu, which has reporters stationed in vote counting centers across the country, declared Erdogan the winner. Turkey’s electoral commission is not expected to publicly announce any official results until Monday. A win requires an absolute majority.

Now in his third term as prime minister at the head of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Erdogan has been a polarizing figure…..

http://www.timesofisrael.com/turkeys-pm-erdogan-wins-presidential-vote/#ixzz3A1HEFkx0