Ayhan Şimşek
June 25, 2018•Update: June 26, 2018
By Ayhan Simsek
BERLIN
Germany vowed on Monday to move forward in working constructively with the new government of Turkey, following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s historic election win on Sunday.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said, they have taken note of the preliminary results, which showed that President Erdogan won an absolute majority in the presidential election.
"We are looking forward to continuing a constructive, beneficial working relationship between German and Turkish governments," Steffen Seibert said.
He also noted that Chancellor Merkel would congratulate Turkish President Erdogan at an appropriate time.
Early Monday morning, Turkey's Supreme Election Council announced that Erdogan won an absolute majority in the presidential election.
With 99.6 percent of the ballot boxes opened, Erdogan is leading with 52.58 percent of the vote, while his closest rival Muharrem Ince lags behind at 30.64 percent.
In Sunday’s parliamentary polls, the People's Alliance -- a coalition of Erdogan's Justice and Development (AK) Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) -- won 53.6 percent of the vote, with 99.6 percent of the ballot boxes opened.
