Tayyip Erdogan Wins Turkish Presidency With 52%: Near-Final Vote count

Istanbul: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday won Turkey's presidency in the first round of elections with 52.1 percent of the vote, an almost complete vote count said.

Erdogan's main rival Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu won 38.8 percent of the vote and Kurdish candidate Selahattin Demirtas 9.1 percent of the vote, Turkish television channels said, based on a 99 percent vote count.

With his victory now certain, Erdogan, a pious Muslim, headed to the historic Eyup Sultan Mosque in Istanbul for prayer. He was then expected to fly to the capital Ankara for a victory speech, television reports said.