PHUTI MOSOMANE
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his successful election, expressing his well wishes on Monday. Erdoğan emerged victorious in the presidential election runoff held on Sunday.
During the first round of elections on May 14, the High Election Board of Turkey announced that Erdoğan secured 27.13 million votes, while Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 24.60 million votes. As neither candidate attained the required 50% majority, a runoff became necessary.
In the final round on Sunday, Erdoğan garnered 27.73 million votes, which accounted for over 52% of the total, while Kilicdaroglu obtained 25.43 million votes (47.8%).
Ramaphosa expressed South Africa’s anticipation to collaborate with Turkey under Erdoğan’s leadership in order to strengthen the existing robust bilateral and multilateral relations.
The formal diplomatic relations between South Africa and Turkey were established in 1991.
According to presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, South Africa and Turkey share common platforms in multilateral forums such as the G20 and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Additionally, both countries actively participate in various organs of the United Nations, to which they both belong.
Erdoğan delivered a victory speech on Sunday, marking the continuation of his two-decade-long rule.
In his speech, he promised to turn around the economy to attract more investments.
“We are designing an economy focused on investment and employment, with a finance management team that has international reputation,” said Erdogan.
INSIDE POLITICS
