Türkiye's president President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a third term in office after beating his coalition rival in a run-off poll on Sunday. Having already served as prime minister between 2003-2014, the victory extends his time in power into a third decade.

Securing 52.1 percent of the vote in a tense second round, Erdogan told his supporters gathering outside his home in Istanbul before the official result had been announced: "We will be together until the grave."

Erdogan's victory ends an extraordinary campaign by his ruling AKP party and its "People's Alliance" coalition.

In his official victory speech at the Aksaray palace in Ankara, the President told a sea of party faithful "the entire nation of 85 million has won." He called for "unity and solidarity" before launching an attack on his Republican rival Kemal Kilicdarolgu and Türkiye's LGBTQ community.

Conceding defeat, Kilicdarolgu, the veteran leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) who had led the six-party opposition alliance, described the elections as "the most unfair in years" and warned of "dark days ahead" for the nation.

World leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin, Hungary's Victor Orban and France's Emmanuel Macron were among the first to offer their congratulations to Erdogan.

Describing Erdogan as his "dear friend," Putin said the Turkish President's success had been "a natural result of your selfless work." Macron tweeted that  "France and Türkiye have huge challenges to face together". U.S. President Joe Biden said he hoped to work with Erdogan on "shared global challenges."

As the Turkish Republic marks its centenary year, the nation is grappling with an official inflation rate of over forty percent and the aftermath of February's devastating earthquakes.

As the news of Erdogan's win sank in with investors, the Turkish lira again hit another record low on the money markets, falling to 20.6TRL to the dollar in early Monday trading. The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value over the past decade of AKP rule. Analysts warn of trouble ahead.

"The economy will keep getting worse, the opposition isn't going away, and a lot of world leaders don't like or trust him any more than they did yesterday," said Nicholas Danforth, of the think tank ELIAMEP.

Divided nation

As well as immense economic challenges, Erdogan faces a nation that remains divided on ideological grounds. The election result map shows a clear geographical split between western coastal areas, the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara and the largely Kurdish southeast which backed the opposition, versus the bulk of the Anatolian heartlands where the AKP garners most of its support.

Voters on both sides summed up their feelings on the streets of Istanbul.

"I voted for Erdogan because he is a world leader," said construction worker Omer Kosekol. "I appreciate the things he has done for Türkiye. He changed the health system. He built roads."

However, Ceylan Ilhan, who works in tourism, said she had fears for the future.

"I pray to God that he's going to be good for everyone. We had a different candidate in our hearts, someone who could really lead this country, but it didn't work out. Let's just hope for the best," she said.

Erdogan's campaign was given a boost after failing to win an overall majority in the first round by gaining the endorsement of third-placed, ultra nationalist, candidate Sinan Ogan.

Ogan has indicated he may be seeking a senior position in the new administration as part of any deal, which Türkiye watchers say could mean a move to the right on the policy front for the AKP.

"We already made clear that the fight against terrorism and sending refugees back are our red lines," said Ogan ahead of voting.

Speaking after the result of Sunday's poll, Erdogan described Selahattin Demirtas, the jailed leader of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic party HDP as a "terrorist" whose release would not be possible under his governance.

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