Hundreds of Turkish expats and admirers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejoiced in the streets around the world to celebrate the president's victory in Türkiye's historic presidential runoff late Sunday.
As Türkiye’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) confirmed Erdoğan’s lead in the preliminary results with 52.14%, the president’s supporters took to the streets in the Schaerbeek district of the Belgian capital Brussels, which has a large Turkish population.
The group unfurled Turkish flags, chanted slogans and set off fireworks in reds and whites as honking cars drove through the district.
Brussels police increased security measures around the convoy and crowds.
In Germany, which hosts about 3 million people of Turkish descent, Kurfürstendamm Avenue, one of Berlin's most famous avenues, and Koln’s Friesenplatz district were packed with cars and crowds cheering and waving their Turkish flags and pictures of Erdoğan.
There were also motorcades in Hamburg, with long lines of honking cars forming in front of the Turkish Consulate near the Dammtor railway station. On the lawn in front of the consulate alone, about 1,000 flag-waving Erdoğan supporters celebrated the president's victory.
Other celebrations and parades with hundreds of people were reported in Berlin, the financial hub of Frankfurt and the Bavarian capital Munich.
Celebrations also took place in other Western European cities, including Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Zurich in Switzerland and Strasburg in France.
Hundreds banded together to sing and dance in the French city of Romorantin-Lanthenay, while in Blois, the crowds lined up along the streets with more flags.
Similar scenes were unfolding in Sweden, Austria, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) through the night.
In the North Macedonian capital Skopje, citizens celebrated with flags of Türkiye, Albania and Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
As in the rest of the world, there is much joy in Skopje and across the Balkans over Erdoğan’s victory, one supporter named Zekeriya Kahveci told Anadolu Agency (AA) amid celebrations as one citizen handed out baklava to the cheering crowds.
"It was important for us that Erdoğan won because any calamity that befalls Türkiye pains us, too. Türkiye is a great power for us and it must stay strong. A powerful Türkiye means powerful Balkans," Kahveci said.
Over in Bosnia-Herzegovina, both Turks and Bosnians flooded the streets of Sarajevo in cars adorned with Turkish flags and posters of Erdoğan.
Hundreds more, including Turks and Turkmens, held equally festive celebrations in Azerbaijan and Lebanon where the capital Beirut witnessed many filling the streets of Tariq El Jdideh with cheers, flags and fireworks.
In Qatar, the Al Jaber Twin Towers of Doha were lit up with Turkish flags and a picture of Erdoğan in honor of his victory. Many Qatari citizens gathered in the Katara Cultural Village and celebrated the Turkish leader.
In Pakistan, Turks living in Islamabad crowded the streets in cars covered in Turkish flags alongside Pakistani citizens who joined their celebrations.
"We won these elections not only in Türkiye. We wish this election’s outcome to be good for the downtrodden and all Muslims around the world," said Raşit Çolak, an academician teaching Turkish at the National University of Modern Languages.
Similar joy was present among Turks in the Gaza Strip of Palestine who waved Turkish and Palestinian flags with posters of Erdoğan.
One Palestinian baker handed out plates of dessert to the celebrating crowd.
"We congratulate the Turkish people for this wedding of democracy," a Palestinian man, Enver Atallah, told AA.
Palestine stands in solidarity with Türkiye, Atallah said. "Turkish people have bled for Palestine and we are here to show our blood and fate is one and the same."
Another Palestinian, a bakery owner in New York, celebrated Erdoğan’s victory by distributing falafels, a traditional Arab food, to neighboring business owners and passersby.
The owner and employees of Al-Aqsa Bakery and Restaurant in Brooklyn marked the occasion by wearing T-shirts featuring the Turkish flag. Playing the song "Dombra," a campaign song composed for Erdoğan, in the meantime, the owner said, "(Mr.) President, congratulations."
Dozens more commemorated the president’s win in the U.S. state of New Jersey, while in Britain’s London across the pond, Turks assembled in the iconic Hyde Park. Tourists from some Arab and African nations too joined the celebrations.
In Algeria, the owner of a hotel in the capital Algiers opened the doors of his hotel to the Turks throwing a celebratory parade.
Türkiye and Algeria have "wonderful" relations, Tariq Nashadi pointed out as he said: "The joy of Turks is our joy. We’re in fact happier than they are because we love Erdoğan."