President Erdogan wins the Turkish elections

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the second round of the Turkish presidential elections, after winning 52.15% of the total vote, compared to less than 48% for his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Erdogan declared his victory and thanked the Turkish people for renewing their confidence in him, and holding him responsible for a new presidential term.

In his impassioned speech to thousands of his supporters, Erdogan said that he will continue to work for Turkey. Erdogan also appeared among his supporters in Istanbul, singing and celebrating.

What are Erdogan's promises in his new presidential term?

• Erdogan made it clear that the most important issue in the coming days is to solve the problems of increasing prices caused by inflation.
• Erdogan stated that he will continue the policy of stability, planning to build a productive economy based on investment and job creation.
• Erdogan promised to create six million jobs, achieve high growth rates, and give a big boost to tourism.
• Erdogan promised to spend everything necessary to rebuild the earthquakeravaged southeastern region, and said: "Healing the wounds left by the earthquakes of February 6, which was considered the catastrophe of the century, and the reconstruction of our destroyed cities, will remain our top priority."
• Providing scholarships to students who lost relatives as a result of the earthquake that struck Turkish cities.
• Erdogan announced the implementation of a giant project in Istanbul called the " The Great Istanbul Tunnel Project" to be the third tunnel linking the two parts of the Bosphorus Strait under the sea.

Istanbul Great Tunnel Project

The Istanbul Great Tunnel project will be the third tunnel to pass under the Bosphorus Strait, and the Turkish president said: "This project will be the third tunnel to pass under the Bosphorus Strait after the (Marmaray, which opened in 2013) and (Eurasia, which opened in late 2016)" tunnels, indicating that the project includes 11 railway lines that will be used daily by 6.5 million Istanbul residents, as the main reason for building The Great Istanbul Tunnel is to reduce traffic congestion in Istanbul.

The project includes 3 floors under the Bosphorus Strait, the length of the great Istanbul tunnel is 4.5 km under the Bosphorus Strait, the metro line is 31 km long and includes 14 stations, while the highway will be 16.5 km long, and this tunnel ensures movement between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul through roads and railways.

The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey announced that the third tunnel that will connect the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, which was officially called the "Istanbul Great Tunnel", will be operational in 2028.

The cost of The Great Istanbul Tunnel, according to estimates, is about $3.5 billion. It is worth noting that the Turkish government has spent more than 64 billion Turkish liras on tunnel projects over the past 19 years.