Erric Permana
25 June 2018•Update: 25 June 2018
By Erric Permana
JAKARTA
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday congratulated his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for winning the election.
“This morning, the foreign minister told me this news, and I would like to congratulate Erdogan on his re-election as Turkey’s president,” he told Anadolu Agency in Jakarta.
He hoped that bilateral ties between the two countries will improve, especially in the economic and investment sectors.
According to him, Indonesia and Turkey – as two countries with the largest Muslim population in the world – have many similarities.
He asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi to arrange a time, so he can personally congratulate Erdogan in a phone call.
“I asked the foreign minister to arrange phone calls between us,” he added.
Turkish citizens voted in twin presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday.
Early Monday morning, Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) announced that Erdogan won an absolute majority in the presidential election after 97.7 percent of ballot boxes were opened.
Erdogan is leading with 52.5 percent of the votes while his major rival Muharrem Ince lags behind at 30.6 percent.
The People's Alliance -- a coalition of Erdogan's Justice and Development (AK) Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) -- has won 53.6 percent of the votes as 99.1 percent of the boxes have been opened so far in parliamentary votes.
