Erdogan faces a polarized Turkey after historic victory

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces the daunting task of uniting his deeply divided country after winning a historic run-off election yesterday to extend his two-decade rule to 2028.

Turkey's longest-serving leader brushed aside a powerful opposition coalition, a biting economic crisis and widespread anger after a devastating February earthquake to defeat secular challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday's vote.

For all the latest news, follow Daily Star's Google News Channel.

But the four-point margin of victory was the narrowest of any of Erdogan's past elections, highlighting the sharp polarization of Islamist-rooted conservatives fighting for his third and final term as president.

Erdogan tried to sound conciliatory in his victory speech to thousands of jubilant supporters gathered outside Ankara's presidential palace, urging Turks to "come together in unity and solidarity".

Kilicdaroglu remained defiant, vowing to "continue the struggle" against Erdogan and his AKP party, which has dominated Turkish politics since 2002.

After harnessing a coalition of nationalist, conservative and religious voters, Erdogan will "double down on his brand of populist policies... political polarization is here to stay," said Emre Pekar of the Eurasia Group consultancy.

Relieving Turks from the country's worst economic crisis since the 1990s is one of Erdogan's urgent priorities.

Development over the years due to infrastructure projects and boom in the construction sector has earned him immense popularity and a loyal voter base that has never left him.

But inflation is now running at more than 40 percent, driven up in part by Erdogan's unorthodox policy of cutting interest rates and calming rising prices.

Analysts say Erdogan's campaign spending pledges and unwavering commitment to low interest rates will further strain the bank's currency reserves.

"The current set-up is unsustainable," noted Timothy Ash of BlueBay Asset Management, adding that the central bank has blown billions of dollars to prop up the lira.