Erdogan: AK Party winner of polls by far

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday hailed the Turkish nation's high participation in the local elections.

"Turkey has completed March 31 local elections with democratic maturity," Erdogan said, while speaking at the Huber Mansion in Istanbul.

Erdogan went on to say his Justice and Development (AK) Party, and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) came first on the basis of alliances, referring to their 'People’s Alliance'.

"AK Party is the winner by far as it has always been since Nov. 3, 2002 elections when it won for the first time," he added.

He stressed that the next elections in Turkey would be held in 2023.

He said he would deliver AK Party’s "traditional balcony speech" in the capital Ankara and further evaluate the poll results there.