ANKARA, June 25 (Reuters) - Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party claimed victory in Turkey's presidential and parliamentary polls on Sunday, overcoming the biggest electoral challenge to their rule in a decade and a half.
The main opposition party did not immediately concede defeat. But after initially saying Erdogan would fall well short of a first-round victory, it said it would continue its democratic struggle "whatever the result".
"Our people have given us the job of carrying out the presidential and executive posts," Erdogan said in a short national address as votes were still being counted.
"I hope nobody will try to cast a shadow on the results and harm democracy in order to hide their own failure," he added, clearly aiming to pre-empt opposition complaints of foul play.
Erdogan, 64, the most popular but also the most divisive politician in modern Turkish history, later waved to cheering, flag-waving supporters from the top of a bus in Istanbul.
Sunday's vote ushers in a powerful new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan and backed by a small majority of Turks in a 2017 referendum. Critics say it will further erode democracy in the NATO member state and entrench one-man rule.
Erdogan's victory paves the way for another five-year term. Under the new constitution, he could serve a further term from 2023, taking him to 2028.
An unexpectedly strong showing by the AK Party's alliance partner, the nationalist MHP, could translate into the stable parliamentary majority that Erdogan seeks in order to govern freely.
"This sets the stage for speeding up reforms," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek tweeted of the results. READ MORE
