Erdogan Claims Victory, Tells Enemies They Will Pay Price

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan declared victory in local polls and said he would "enter the lair" of enemies who have accused him of corruption and leaked state secrets. 

"They will pay for this," he said, addressing his supporters from a balcony of at the headquarters of the ruling AKP party.

Erdogan told thousands of cheering supporters that his enemies in politics and the state, whom he has labelled "traitors," "terrorists" and "an alliance of evil", would pay the price.

"We will enter their lair," he said. "They will be brought to account. How can you threaten national security?"

According to the Hurryiet newspaper, at 95% of the ballots cast, Erdogan's party wins 44% of the votes, while the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) gets 28%. In the elections participated 92% of the nearly 52 million voters.

The main opposition CHP said it would challenge the result in Ankara, which was a particularly close race.

The elections did not go all too smoothly, with 8 people reportedly killed during clashes between rival supporters.

Investors, who have been unnerved by the turbulence in the past several months, took solace in the election result, seeing it as a sign of political continuity. The lira rallied to its strongest in two months and stocks hit a 3-month high.