said it was the most unfair election in years and he felt saddened by the troubles awaiting turkey. aru na iyengar reports. ecstatic erdogan supporters outside the presidential palace in ankara last night. earlier in the day, the president had sung to the crowd and recited a poem. this erdogan supporter says, bye bye mr kemal. thank god islam has won. translation: we are very happy. full ofjoy- - i can t even contain myself. i thank god. big celebrations, but they don t show that this was the biggest challenge to mr erdogan s authority in years. he became prime minister in 2003, later becoming president. to build up that position, he has stifled all opposition. his non religious rival, kemal kilicdaroglu, says the election was unfair. mr erdogan had one big advantage almost total control of the media. mr kilicdaroglu s chp party had campaigned against crackdowns on dissent, and for a return to an independentjustice system and parliamentary democracy. a sombre mood her
after the earthquakes in february are a massive challenge. mr erdogan promised in his victory speech to return syrian refugees back to their homeland. anti immigrant feeling in turkey has been growing. 0ctober will see the centenary of the turkish republic. mr erdogan says he is confident about the future. others are less convinced. live now to california with gehan tugal, a professor of sociology at the university of california berkeley. erdogan went into this election cycle arguably more vulnerable than at any time for 20 years, yet he won comfortably. international election observers said the first round vote was broadly free. what happened 7 yes, depending on the