© Reuters / Umit BektasTurkey's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan
The High Election Board (YSK) chair, Sadi Güven, has announced Erdogan's victory in the presidential election, according to interim results.
"The chairman of the AK Party and the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has become the first president elected by the people," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag posted on his Twitter account.
With 98.75 percent of the ballots counted, Erdogan leads with 52 percent, the Hurriyet Daily reports. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, former Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has received 38 percent of the votes. Selahattin Demirtas, head of the leftist pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, is in third place with just 10 percent.
Erdogan, who is currently serving as the country's prime minister, will become Turkey's first president elected in a popular vote. Until now, the country's presidents have been elected by members of the Turkish Parliament. The amendment which changed the way Turkey elects its leaders was first drafted in 2007.
© Reuters / Umit BektasSupporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan celebrate his election victory in front of the party headquarters in Ankara August 10, 2014
"I hope the final whistle will be blown by the referee, but the stands have made their decision. The people have shown their will," Erdogan told crowds of supporters at a convention center in Istanbul.
"The moment the results reach 100 percent we will call out from our balcony at our [party] headquarters,"he said.
Thousands gather outside #AKP headquarters in #Ankara to celebrate @RT_Erdogan election victory #Turkey pic.twitter.com/S653G5BVE9Turkey's electoral authorities are not expected to officially announce the first results until Monday, while final figures are due later in the week.
- Jamal Elshayyal جمال (@JamalsNews) August 10, 2014
Erdogan's expected victory comes less than six months after his ruling AK Party won local elections in March.
Wrapping up his presidential campaign on Saturday, Erdogan addressed thousands of his supporters, saying that his victory would mark the dawn of a "new Turkey."
He vowed to raise democratic standards and help boost the economy to make Turkey a "world leader and global power."
Erdogan said he would exercise the full powers granted to him by current laws. He plans to make changes to the country's current constitution, in order to establish a fully executive presidency.
The constitution that is now in place was written under military rule after a 1980 coup, and enables the newly-elected president to chair cabinet meetings and appoint the premier and members of top judicial bodies - including the Constitutional Court and Supreme Council of Judges.
No, it will not continue.The petroleum from nortehrn Iraq is sold to Israel without consent of the Iraqi government. Our ambassador is still held by Isıl terrorists in Iraq and nobody is allowed to talk about it in Turkey.
Actually he lost a lot of votes. There was a reaction to the Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and a lot of people either did not vote or gave invalid votes. This was a Pyrrhus victory.