Turkish PM calls result 'victory day for democracy'

KONYA, Turkey

Turkish Prime Minister and Justice and Development (AK) Party Chairman Ahmet Davutoglu has described the party’s success in Sunday's parliamentary election as a “victory day for democracy”.

"This victory is not ours [AK Party], but that of our nation and our citizens," Davutoglu said in an address in his hometown in Konya hours after preliminary results put the AK Party ahead of all other parties.

The Turkish PM spoke in Konya just before a victory speech in the capital, Ankara.

He addressed AK Party voters saying: “Do not be provoked.”

“Today, you will greet your neighbors and you will embrace your brothers more than ever. You will not be provoked”, he added.

Davutoglu also addressed other parties’ supporters, saying they should not feel that they lost the election: "There is no loser today. The only winner is our nation, our republic, our democracy."

According to the vote count so far, the AK Party leads with 49.35 percent votes (316 parliamentary seats), followed by the Republican People's Party (CHP) with 25.45 percent (134 seats).

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) got 11.97 percent votes (41 seats), while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) secured 10.61 percent (59 seats), which is just above the election threshold requirement of 10 percent.

The preliminary voter turnout across Turkey stood at 86.76 percent. Preliminary results were released after Turkey's Supreme Election Board lifted a broadcast ban at 7 p.m. local time.

More than 54 million Turks were eligible to vote in a poll to elect 550 deputies to the Grand National Assembly.