Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the crowd gathered outside the headquarters of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara after his party’s electoral defeat in Sunday’s municipal elections.

After the clarification of the final picture of the election result, the Turkish president departed by plane from Istanbul to Ankara where he delivered a speech, as after every election contest.

The Turkish president emphasized that “March 31 for us is not the end, it is a turning point”.

“Although not yet finalised, the poll results show that we have lost ground across the country. Of course, we will analyze the reasons for this decline at the local level. Where we lose, where we fall behind, we will identify (…) the reasons and make the necessary interventions”.

President Erdoğan also assured that the evaluation of the results of the March 31 elections will be carried out in the party organs “with an open heart” and self-criticism will be done “with courage”. Although not yet finalised, the results (…) show us that the AKP “lost ground across the country” he admitted.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan also appeared to refute snap election scenarios after the election result, saying “Turkey has more than four years ahead” of the next election, “which is worth as much as a treasure”.

“We cannot waste this period with discussions that will waste the time of the nation and the country. As a political party that completed its 21st year in power, we are aware of our responsibilities, both in government and in local government. We will pay more attention to the urgent problems of our country, especially the reconstruction of the earthquake-hit area and the elimination of our economic problems,” he insisted.

At the same time, he tried to reassure the markets, assuring that the government has so far resolutely implemented the medium-term program and the 12th development plan.

“We stayed away from populism that would cost our country, our nation and future generations,” he said. We will start to see the positive effects of our economic program, especially on inflation, from the second half of the year,” he promised. “Everyone, from our business world to the bureaucracy, from traders to farmers, traders, workers and students, will be able to focus on what really matters to them.”

“Regardless of the results, the winner of these elections is primarily our democracy, the national will and all 85 million people, regardless of their political views,” the Turkish president said. “The winner of the election marathon was Turkey, our nation and our democracy, for which we paid a heavy price,” he added.