Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 69, was re-elected for a third term on Sunday (28) after a close run-off election against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Erdogan received 27,513,587 votes (or 52.14%), according to data released by Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council, beating his opponent Kilicdaroglu, who received 25,260,109 votes (or 47.86%), with more than 99% of the ballots counted.

Erdogan declared victory shortly before the Supreme Electoral Council, responsible for counting the votes, made it official that the vote count had ended. The presidential election was unprecedented: for the first time the race went to a second round.

With this achievement, Erdogan, who has been in power for 20 years, will be entitled to a further five-year term at the helm of Turkey.

"Now is the time to protect the will of the people we hold in the highest esteem," Erdogan wrote on his Twitter account.

Erdogan faced Kilicdaroglu, 74 and leader of the left-wing CHP party. Runner-up, Kilicdaroglu admitted defeat and said he would continue to lead his fight after "the most unfair election in years" against the current President.

"I have a request for all of you, please, let's keep the fight for democracy alive for you, for your children, for pensioners, for our mothers and fathers, for our farmers and shopkeepers," he said.

"We have experienced the most unfair election in recent years. All the means of the state have been mobilized for one political party. All possibilities have been placed at the feet of one man," he added.

Speaking in Ankara, Kilicdaroglu said that the results showed the will of the people to change an authoritarian government.

"In this election, the will of the people to change an authoritarian regime emerged despite all the pressures. We will continue our struggle on all fronts with all the members of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the National Alliance. We will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until true democracy comes to our country."

He also said that he is saddened by the "problems" that await Turkey.

The third-placed candidate in the first round, Sinan Ogan, had announced his support for Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the 22nd. Ogan had received 5.17% of the votes in the first round, compared to Erdogan's 49.52% in the first round of the presidential election. (cnn)