Turkey awaits official results

Turkey's election commission was on Monday to confirm a victory for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the country's presidential election. The longtime leader garnered 51.9 percent of the vote on Sunday, Turkish media reported, citing early figures.

Early results reflected the divisions in Turkish society, where Erdogan's conservative leanings have resounded mainly in the Turkish heartland. His main challenger, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who took 38.3 percent of the vote, won the most support along the country's coastal fringe. The third candidate, Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, was given 9.7 of the vote, mainly in Turkey's southeastern Kurdish region.

Erdogan touted the win as a reflection of the "national will" and a win for democracy.

"Today is a new day, a milestone for Turkey, the birthday of Turkey, of its rebirth from the ashes," Erdogan told cheering supporters from the balcony of AK Party headquarters in the capital, Ankara, on Sunday night.

"You did not choose a president through an intermediary, you chose him yourself."

Turkish presidents were previously appointed to the largely ceremonial post by parliament; Erdogan organized the direct presidential election with a view to broadening the powers of the presidency.

If official results confirm Erdogan as Turkey's next president, he will then relinquish his post as the head of his own AK Party and help oversee the selection of its new leader.

EU urges reconciliation

EU leaders congratulated Erdogan on his strong showing in the presidential elections in a statement released on Monday. In their joint statement, EU council President Herman van Rompuy and EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso also urged the long-time Turkish leader to seek a more peaceful releationship with opponents.

"As you rightly underlined yourself, we trust you will maintain the conciliatory role which your new position involves, and strive to encompass all communities, beliefs, sensitivities, opinions, and lifestyles of the Turkish society," van Rompuy and Barroso said in the statement.

Turkey is currently a candidate for EU accession, but critics of allowing the country to join point to its questionable state of democracy. Erdogan has faced growing criticism over his administration's record on human rights, corruption and press freedom. Over the past year, police crackdowns against anti-government protesters have drawn international attention, while a graft scandal has led to resignations in his government.

kms/tj (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)