Azerbaijan president congratulates Erdogan on election victory

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AA) - Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has sent his congratulations to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been elected by absolute majority vote to a five-year term as Turkish president. Aliyev greeted Erdogan on his victory in a phone conversation on Sunday night, according to a statement issued on Azerbaijan's presidency website. The two leaders expressed their wishes for further developing the bilateral relations in the future, the statement added. Erdogan was elected Sunday by an absolute majority, securing 51.96 percent of the vote, according to unofficial counts. Without giving the exact numbers, the Supreme Election Board confirmed late Sunday that Erdogan had won outright, declaring a scheduled Aug. 24 run-off election null and void.