Erdogan wins increased powers as rival concedes defeat Italy's Salvini in Libya as migrants in limbo at sea

Erdogan wins increased powers as rival concedes defeat

AFP / Bulent KilicTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won five more years in office with sweeping new powers after a decisive election victory

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday celebrated winning sweeping new powers in a decisive election victory, as his main rival accepted the outcome despite complaints over an unequal campaign that alarmed the EU.

A night of triumph for Erdogan saw the man who has dominated Turkey for the last 15 years declared winner of Sunday's presidential poll without needing a second round and take his ruling party-led alliance to an overall majority in parliament.

Erdogan vowed to "rapidly" implement the new presidential system approved in an April 2017 referendum that opponents fear will give him autocratic powers and keep him in office for two five-year mandates to 2028.

The new system puts Erdogan at the top, giving him the power to appoint cabinet ministers and dispensing with the office of prime minister.

The president, 64, declared victory in Istanbul before returning to Ankara to deliver a triumphant speech at 3:00 am to tens of thousands of supporters from the balcony of the headquarters of his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"Turkey has given a lesson in democracy to the entire world," he added, pointing to a turnout of 88 percent.

- 'One-man regime' -

His main rival Muharrem Ince of the Republican People's Party (CHP), who had challenged Erdogan with an energetic campaign, broke an uncharacteristic overnight silence to concede defeat Monday.

"I accept these election results," Ince said, adding that Erdogan should represent all of Turkey's 80 million people and be "president for us all".

Ince expressed alarm over the powers Erdogan assumes under the new government system which he described as "a one-man regime".

The White House urged Turkey to "take steps to strengthen democracy" but spokeswoman Sarah Sanders also announced that President Donald Trump would likely call Erdogan "to reaffirm our strong bond."

As with other US allies and NATO, Turkey's relations with Washington have been strained by Erdogan's insistence on going his own way, especially on relations with Russia and on policy in Syria.

International election monitors said the election allowed voters a "genuine choice" but decried the lack of "equal" conditions for candidates to campaign.

The EU issued a notably chilly statement that did not congratulate Erdogan or mention him by name and asserted that campaign conditions were "not equal".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile said she looked forward to working with Turkey, especially with "a stable and pluralist Turkey in which democratic participation and rights are reinforced."

Berlin's ties with Erdogan have been fraught but Merkel noted Turkey's importance in solving Europe's migrant problem and "a longstanding friendship".

- 'Great authority' -

In contrast, congratulations for Erdogan flooded in from Turkey's partners in the Islamic world and allies who also have tetchy relations with the West, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin who praised Erdogan's "great political authority".

The Kremlin statement even noted the "mass support of the course conducted under his leadership".

Others congratulating Erdogan included Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Hamas chief Ismail Haniya.

Erdogan has transformed Turkey first as prime minister from 2003 to 2014 and then as president, giving Islam a greater role in public life and giving the country a much more assertive profile on the international stage.

But critics accuse him of ruling with an iron grip, especially after a failed coup in July 2016 which was followed by a state of emergency that has seen tens of thousands of people arrested.

The poll outcome relieved investors who had feared a prolonged period of uncertainty if the election went to a second round, but the Turkish lira pared initial sharp gains against the dollar.

- 'Biggest injustice' -

According to results published by the state news agency Anadolu, Erdogan won 52.6 percent of the vote, with Ince on 30.6 percent.

Erdogan, who enjoys sky-high support in parts of the Anatolian heart of the country, improved on his 51.8 percent score from 2014.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) candidate Selahattin Demirtas came third with 8.4 percent, a performance all the more remarkable given he has been jailed on charges of links to Kurdish militants since November 2016.

With Turkey holding parliamentary and presidential elections on the same day for the first time, Erdogan was also able to enjoy an overall majority in parliament with the help of his allies from the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

AFP / Ilyas AKENGINSupporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) celebrate in the streets of Diyarbakir after the party picked up 67 seats in the parliamentary vote

The AKP won 295 seats in the 600 MP chamber but the MHP did far better than expected, winning 49 seats and giving their alliance a clear majority, according to results published by Anadolu.

The HDP easily broke through the 10 percent minimum vote threshold to pick up 67 seats, sparking wild celebrations in its 

Italy's Salvini in Libya as migrants in limbo at sea

AFP / MAHMUD TURKIAOn Sunday, Libyan coastguards rescued nearly 1,000 migrants in distress on the seas who were brought back to Tripoli

Italy's pugnacious new government took its fight to block migrants to Libya on Monday as a new boat with hundreds on board remained stranded at sea, deepening a crisis shaking Europe.

With European leaders at each other's throats over the large number of migrants arriving from North Africa, Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini paid a surprise visit to Tripoli.

There, he called for the establishment of processing centres in various unnamed African countries to deal with potential migrants in a move "to help Libya as well as Italy block migration".

Libya is a key departure point for thousands of migrants hoping to reach Europe, although hundreds drown each year attempting the crossing.

Salvini's unexpected trip came a day after emergency talks between 16 European Union leaders in a bid to break a longstanding deadlock over who should take in the migrants, the bulk of which have been landing in Italy and Greece.

The crisis came to a head earlier this month when Italy's new populist government turned away a rescue boat carrying 630 people, which was also rejected by Malta, forcing the vessel to remain at sea until Spain offered them safe haven.

AFP / Mahmud TURKIAItaly's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini made a surprise visit to Tripoli on Monday 

But the relief was short-lived, with Italy and Malta refused a second vessel carrying 234 migrants who were rescued on Thursday.

The move left Germany-operated rescue boat Lifeline stranded in international waters near Malta.

"Let's see if Europe remembers that it actually exists because there is still a boat loaded with migrants in Maltese waters waiting for a port to welcome it and we can tell you again, it won't be in an Italian port," Salvini said.

A Danish cargo ship owned by Maersk, the world's leading container shipping company, has also been stuck off Sicily since Saturday with 108 migrants on board, awaiting instructions from the Italian authorities.

Ramping up the rhetoric, Salvini earlier issued a blunt rebuke, warning foreign charities to stop rescuing migrants off Libya, accusing them of "causing trouble" and saying Italian ports "are and will be closed to those who aid human traffickers."

His remarks came as Libya's coastguard said it had rescued nearly a 1,000 people on Sunday, and Spanish authorities said they had picked up more than 600 others off their coast on Monday.

- 'Stop these boats' -

Mission Lifeline/AFP/File / Hermine POSCHMANNNearly 240 migrants who were rescued on Thursday by the German-operated Lifeline ship remain at sea after Italy and Malta refused them safe haven

Salvini has insisted Italy will not take in "one more" refugee, vowing to close its ports to all foreign-flagged rescue ships and demanding that Europe shoulder the burden, warning the migration crisis could threaten the bloc's future.

"We will jointly support, with Libyan authorities, the setting up of reception and identification centres south of Libya, on the external border of Libya, to help Libya as well as Italy block migration," Salvini told a news conference in Tripoli.

Ahmed Maiteeq, deputy head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), said Libya would host a migration summit in September.

Earlier, he told Italy's La Repubblica that Europe "must think of structural measures to take in African countries to stop migrants."

On his return to Rome, Salvini said a technical team would be set up this week with representatives from Italy, Niger, Chad and Mali.

He dismissed calls by France and Spain for asylum-seekers to be kept in closed centres until their claims are processed -- a proposal Rome fears would turn Italy into "a refugee camp for all of Europe".

"Welcome hotspots in Italy? It would be a problem for us and for Libya itself because it would not stop these deadly waves (of migration). We have proposed reception centres south of Libya to avoid Tripoli becoming a funnel, like Italy," he wrote on Twitter.

"The only way to really counteract the traffickers' criminal interests and avoid these voyages of death is to stop these boats putting out to sea," he added in a separate statement.

- Project Europe 'in danger' -

AFP / Simon MALFATTOMediterranean migrants

The crisis has seen France and Italy go head-to-head, with France's Emmanuel Macron accusing Rome of "irresponsibility" for turning away the boats, and Italy denouncing Paris for its hypocrisy in pushing migrants back across their shared border.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing an ultimatum from her hardline interior minister who has given her until the end of June to find a European deal to curb new arrivals.

Sunday's emergency EU leaders meeting had aimed to clear the air between member states ahead of a scheduled full summit on Thursday and Friday.

Both Macron and Merkel have vowed to forge ahead with like-minded leaders on ways to reduce migrant flows, but the EU's top migration official warned that Europe would only solve the crisis by working together.

"We must find a way to adopt a shared policy and a shared strategy to face this situation, otherwise the European project is in danger," Dimitris Avramopoulos told AFP on a visit to Tehran.

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