UPDATE 2 - World leaders hail Turkey's Erdogan on local vote win

UPDATES WITH RUSSIAN PRESIDENT'S PHONE CALL

By Aamir Latif and Faruk Zorlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Leaders across the world on Monday congratulated Turkey’s president for his party’s win in local elections.

The leaders called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after unofficial results showed the Justice and Development (AK) Party won nearly 45 percent of the vote in Sunday’s local elections, according to Turkish presidential sources.

Leaders congratulating Erdogan included Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Chairman Milorad Dodik, former Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic, Guinean President Alpha Conde, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Additionally, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted on Monday: "I am delighted to congratulate friend of Pakistan Recep Tayyip Erdogan on another important victory in the Turkish local elections."

"The people of Pakistan wish him many more successes," he added. Khan later called Erdogan and congratulated him on success in local polls.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci also congratulated his Turkish counterpart over phone for his party's success in Sunday's vote.

At home, the head of Turkey's opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, as well as former prime ministers Tansu Ciller and Mesut Yilmaz also sent congratulations to Erdogan.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party led the weekend local elections, capturing 15 metropolitan municipalities (larger cities) and 24 cities, according to early results as of Monday morning.

AK Party candidates got the support of 44.42 percent of voters on Sunday, beating the 30.07 percent draw of the main opposition Republican People's Party’s (CHP), which won mayoral races in 11 metropolitan municipalities and 10 cities.

On Sunday, millions of Turkish citizens cast ballots in the local elections to choose Turkey’s mayors, city council members, mukhtars (neighborhood officials), and members of elder councils for the next five years.