Turkey: Meral Aksener to continue as IYI Party leader

By Yasemin Kalyoncuoglu and Tanju Ozkaya

ANKARA

Turkey's Good (IYI) Party head Meral Aksener said on Tuesday that her party would continue under her leadership after the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Addressing reporters for the first time since Sunday's elections, in which she was also a presidential candidate, Aksener said the general executive board of the party convened after election results.

Citing the board decision, Aksener said the results were "a win that has increased the nation's hope for the future", adding that the board agreed she should lead the party.

“We are only beginning our honorable march," Aksener added.

According to Turkey’s Supreme Election Council (YSK), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won an absolute majority in the presidential election with 52.5 percent of the vote, while his closest rival lagged behind at 30.6 percent.

Aksener gained 7.2 percent of the votes.

In the parliamentary polls, the People's Alliance of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Justice and Development (AK) Party won 53.6 percent of the votes, with 99.9 percent of ballot boxes opened.

In its first election, the IYI Party made it to parliament with over 40 deputies and received 10 percent of the votes as part of the “Nation Alliance" with Republican People's Party (CHP) and Felicity Party.