TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected in a vote that “took place under the repressive conditions of the one-man regime,” opposition parties complained today.

Mr Erdogan beat challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu 52-48 in yesterday’s presidential runoff, two weeks after he fell short of scoring an outright victory in the first round. 

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate had promised to return to democratic norms, adopt more conventional economic policies and improve ties with the West, as well as a campaign to expel refugees.

Mr Erdogan thanked the nation for entrusting him with the presidency again.

“We hope to be worthy of your trust, as we have been for 21 years,” he told supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul.

Speaking later outside the presidential palace in Ankara, Mr Erdogan said: “The only winner today is Turkey,” as he pledged to work hard for Turkey’s second century, which he called the “Turkish century.”

The country marks its centenary as a republic this year.

But a joint statement from Mithat Sancar, co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), and Green Left Party spokespeople Cigdem Kilicgun Ucar and Ibrahim Akin poured scorn on the fairness of the election.

It said: “We have witnessed an unfair election marked by violations of basic democratic rules, which took place under the repressive conditions of the one-man regime.”

The trio said state resources had been used to promote Mr Erdogan, backed by a “troll army on the net.”

They added: “We made an effort to open the door to democracy by offering realistic promises to a society faced by a choice between authoritarianism or democracy.”

The opposition parties said they were pleased that the vote preference for Mr Kilicdaroglu in 16 regional provinces where most Kurds live was as high as it was on May 14 “despite all the pressure and dirty propaganda, our people did not take a step back.”

In the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir, metalworker Ahmet Koyun said: “It is sad on behalf of our people that a government with such corruption, such stains, has come into power again.” 

He added: “Mr Kemal would have been great for our country, at least for a change of scenery.”