Bulgarian PM, President congratulate Erdogan on victory in Turkish elections
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and President Roumen Radev have congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his victory in the parliamentary and presidential elections held in Turkey on June 24 2018, statements by the government press office and the presidency said.
Provisional results in the Turkish vote are that Erdogan won re-election as president with about 53 per cent of the votes. Erdogan’s AKP party reportedly received 42 per cent and is set to lose its outright majority in Parliament for the first time in a decade and a half, but is still expected to remain in government after its electoral coalition partner, nationalist MHP party, received about 11 per cent of the vote.
The elections were the first held in Turkey since last year’s constitutional referendum, which narrowly approved the vast expansion of the president’s powers, and also the first since the failed coup against Erdogan and his government in July 2016.
Borissov, in his message to Erdogan said: “I am convinced that the will of the Turkish people, expressed today, will be the basis for the stable and consolidated development of Turkey in all areas.”
The Bulgarian Prime Minister offered his congratulations in a phone call to Erdogan, expressing his satisfaction with the relationship between Bulgaria and Turkey in recent years, and saying that he was counting on continued active bilateral co-operation.
“I believe that together we will work for stronger ties between our two countries on the migration issue, as well as peace and stability in the region,” Borissov said, as quoted by the government statement.
The statement said that the Bulgarian Prime Minister conveyed to Erdogan his stated position from the June 24 EU summit on migration, namely that the bloc’s re-admission agreement with Turkey should be extended in order for the successful resolution of the migrant crisis.
Similarly, Radev’s letter of congratulation said that he was hopeful that “the constructive and intensive dialogue will continue its upward development in the intests of peace, stability and security in South-Eastern Europe,” the presidency’s office said, as quoted by public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television.
