Turkey's Erdogan, his alliance win presidential, parliamentary elections

ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his alliance at the parliament won in Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, state-run Anadolu Agency announced.

Erdogan had 52.5 percent, with 98 percent of the votes counted in his bid for a presidency with broadly expanded powers, according to Anadolu Agency's unofficial results.

In his first statement on Sunday evening, Erdogan declared victory pledging a new era with a strengthened democracy and economy under the new governing system.

"According to unofficial results, the outcome of the elections is clear. The nation has entrusted me with the role of presidency and executive power," Erdogan said in his residence in Istanbul.

"In the same way, a big responsibility was given on the shoulders of People's Alliance and of Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the parliament as it gets majority," he said.

"It's now time to leave all political debates of the election campaign behind and to get focused on the future," Erdogan added.

His closest challenger Muharrem Ince of the main opposition, secularist Republican People's Party (CHP), received nearly 30 percent of the votes.

The jailed candidate Selahattin Demirtas of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) got around 8.3 percent, while Meral Aksener, the only female presidential candidate in the race, had 7.4 percent of votes.

Sunday's vote will pave the way for fully implementing new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan.