SO Turkey has finally spoken. It was no surprise that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the current prime minister, won the Presidential race at a canter in the first round against two other candidates.

With 99% of ballot boxes counted, Mr Erdogan had 51.95% of the vote. His main rival, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, had 38.34% of the vote and the third candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, had 9.71%.

In a victory speech to thousands of flag-waving supporters at his governing Justice and Development Party’s Ankara headquarters, Mr. Erdogan called for societal reconciliation after a brutal campaign that was widely seen as hardening divisions across the country.

But he also warned his political enemies against undermining Turkish security.

“Without a doubt, new Turkey, great Turkey, leading Turkey has won today. We are closing the doors on one era, and we are now taking our first step to a new phase,” Mr. Erdogan said. “We will face down whoever threatens our national security.”

A map of Turkey showing the way the votes went showed that, predictably, the west coast provinces such as Izmir, Aydin, Mugla and Antalya – where the main summer tourism is concentrated – turn away from Erdogan.

In Didim, for example, the results were:

Ihsanoglu: 64.59 per cent of the vote: 26,874 votes

Erdogan: 23.93 pc: 9,956 votes
Demirtas: 11.49 pc: 4,779 votes

Erdoğan also made a short speech at the ruling AKP’s election coordination center in Istanbul in front of a crowd, saying, “We will continue to serve our nation for a better democracy and to make the resolution process rein,” openly referring to efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue.

The ballot box turnout totaled 73.13 percent, way below expectations despite apparent “polarization” in the country. Analysts said the total was around 2 million votes fewer than the turnout at the local elections on March 30.

The new president will serve a five-year term and has the right to stand for another term. Outgoing President Abdullah Gül’s tenure will end Aug. 28.