Turkey's Erdogan claims victory in presidential election

Updated 9.45pm - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in Sunday's presidential election and said his ruling AK Party and its alliance partner had won a parliamentary majority. However, the main opposition party said it was too early to concede defeat and said it believed Erdogan could still fall short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff on July 8. "Our people have given us the job of carrying out the presidential and executive posts," he said in a short speech from Istanbul. "I hope nobody will try to cast a shadow on the results and harm democracy in order to hide their own failure." Sunday's vote ushers in a powerful new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan and backed by a small majority of Turks in a 2017 referendum. Critics say it will further erode democracy in the NATO member state and entrench one-man rule. An unexpectedly strong showing by the AK Party's alliance partner, the nationalist MHP, could translate into a stable parliamentary majority Erdogan seeks to govern freely. In early trading in Asia the lira currency firmed modestly against the dollar on the prospect of increased political stability. Erdogan's main presidential rival, Muharrem...