ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in critical elections Sunday based on unofficial results, securing an executive presidency with sweeping powers.

Speaking in televised remarks from Istanbul late in the evening, 64-year-old Erdogan said “the nation has entrusted to me the responsibility of the presidency and the executive duty.”

He also declared victory for the People’s Alliance, an electoral cooperation between his ruling Justice and Development Party and the small Nationalist Movement Party, saying they had a “parliamentary majority” in the 600-member assembly.

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The incumbent president held a commanding lead in his bid for a presidency with broadly expanded powers, according to partial results reported by the country’s state-run news agency that showed him with more than 50 percent of the vote — enough to avoid a runoff.

But the main opposition contender, Muharrem Ince, contested the report. In a tweet, he said that only 37% of ballot boxes had actually been counted, as opposed to the more than nearly 90% that the state-run agency Anadolu was reporting. He accused the agency of “manipulation” of the results.

The high-stakes presidential contest and a parliamentary election also held Sunday were set to either consolidate Erdogan’s grip on power or curtail his vast political ambitions. The vote will complete Turkey’s transition from a parliamentary to a new executive presidential system, a move approved in a referendum last year.

For an outright win in the presidential race, Erdogan needs more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off on July 8.

According to Anadolu, Erdogan was at 53.3% of the vote, with his main rival Muharrem Ince at 30.4%. Kurdish candidate Selahattin Demirtas, who ran his campaign from jail where he is being held pending trial on terrorism-related charges, was garnering 7.7%. He has called the charges trumped-up and politically motivated.

Erdogan supporters waving Turkish and party flags celebrated outside his residence in Istanbul.

In the parliamentary vote, Erdogan’s People’s Alliance, which includes his Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and a small nationalist party, stood at 54.4%, while the opposition Nation Alliance grouping together nationalists, secularists and a small Islamic-leaning party, was at 33.7%.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, was edging past the 10% threshold to enter parliament, with 10.7%. If the HDP manages to get into parliament, it could threaten Erdogan’s AKP majority, meaning it will need support from another party to approve legislation.

HDP has seen nine of its lawmakers, including Demirtas, and thousands of party members jailed, and says more than 350 of its election workers have been detained since April 28.

Erdogan, 64, is seeking re-election for a five-year term with hugely increased powers under the new system, which he insists will bring prosperity and stability to Turkey, especially after a failed coup attempt in 2016 that has left the country under a state of emergency.

Ince, speaking just after polls closed, warned civil servants involved in the vote count to do their jobs “abiding by the law” and without fear, suggesting they were under pressure by the government. He asked all Turks to be vigilant at polls and not be “demoralized” by what he called the possible manipulation of news.

Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, has faced a more robust, united opposition than ever before. Opposition candidates had vowed to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy with strong checks and balances and have decried what they call Erdogan’s “one-man rule.”

Erdogan is the most powerful leader since the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He remains popular in the conservative and pious heartland, having empowered previously disenfranchised groups.

From a modest background himself, he has presided over an infrastructure boom that has modernized Turkey and lifted many out of poverty while also raising Islam’s profile, for instance by lifting a ban on Islamic headscarves in schools and public offices.

But critics say he has taken an increasingly authoritarian bent. The election campaign was heavily skewed in his favor, with opposition candidates struggling to get their speeches aired on television. Erdogan directly or indirectly controls most of Turkey’s media.

Five candidates were running against Erdogan in the presidential race.

“With these elections, Turkey is achieving a virtual democratic revolution,” Erdogan told reporters after voting in Istanbul. He said turnout appeared to be high and that “no serious incidents” had occurred.

Ince, a 54-year-old former physics teacher, is backed by the center-left opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP. He wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging campaign, drawing massive numbers at his rallies in Turkey’s three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Also challenging Erdogan was 61-year-old former Interior Minister Meral Aksener, the only female presidential candidate. She broke away from Turkey’s main nationalist party over its support for Erdogan and formed the Good Party.

More than 59 million Turkish citizens, including 3 million expatriates, were eligible to vote. Erdogan called the election more than a year early amid signs the country could be heading toward an economic downturn.

Turkey was also electing 600 lawmakers to parliament — 50 more than in the previous assembly. The constitutional changes have allowed parties to form alliances, paving the way for Ince’s and Aksener’s parties to join a small Islamist party in the “Nation Alliance” against Erdogan.

The head of Turkey’s electoral commission said authorities had taken action following reports of irregularities at voting stations in southeastern Turkey. Videos posted on social media appeared to show people voting in bulk at a ballot box in the town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was monitoring the elections with over 350 observers. Election monitors criticized Turkey for denying entry to two monitors who Turkey accused of political bias.

Peter Osusky, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, told The Associated Press that all observers “are strongly adhering to so-called code of conduct” regardless of their political opinions.

Recent changes to electoral laws allow civil servants to lead ballot box committees. Ballot papers that do not bear the official stamps will still be considered valid — a measure that led to allegations of fraud in last year’s referendum.

Citing security reasons, authorities have relocated thousands of polling stations in predominantly Kurdish provinces, forcing some 144,000 voters to travel further to cast their ballots. Some will even have to pass through security checkpoints to vote.

The vote took place under a state of emergency declared after the failed coup attempt, which allows the government to curtail civil rights. Some 50,000 people have been arrested and 110,000 civil servants have been fired under the emergency powers, which opposition lawmakers say Erdogan is using to stifle dissent.