World Bulletin / News Desk

While Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party celebrates a successful local election campaign, their glee was shared by many people across the world, especially in the Balkans and the Middle-East.

In the Balkans, street celebrations were held in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo as well as in the Macedonian city of Skopje, where Prime Minister Erdogan has many admirers. During the celebrations, a victory speech by the Turkish Prime Minister was transmitted on a screen.

Speaking to the Balkan people directly, Erdogan thanked everyone who had prayed for a successful campaign.

A number of Palestinians also took to the streets of Gaza waving the Turkish flag alongside the Palestinian flag in celebration of Erdogan's victory.

The government of the Gaza Strip and the ruling Hamas movement on Monday congratulated Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party for their strong electoral lead in Turkey's local elections.

"We congratulate Turkey on its democratic success and we hope this election will encourage more development and progress in Turkey," Gaza government spokesman Ihab al-Ghusain told Anadolu Agency.

Al-Ghusain, for his part, voiced hope that the election results would encourage Turkey to extend further support to "persecuted peoples" and the Palestinian cause.

"Turkey has always adopted stances supportive of the Palestinian cause," al-Ghusain said. "And we believe these poll results will serve to further bolster the Turkish government's support for the Palestinian cause."

Celebrations in Skopje, Macedonia

GREAT EFFORTS

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri attributed the AK Party's electoral victory to its "great efforts" at the local level and its admirable positions vis-à-vis the Islamic nation in general and the Palestinian cause in particular.

"We're confident this victory will be used to serve Turkey's best interests," Abu Zuhri said. "It will also be used to boost Turkey's influence at the regional and international levels."

Millions of Turkish voters cast ballots across Turkey on Sunday. Soon after the voting ended, initial results showed major advances by Erdogan's party.

According to preliminary results, the AK Party received 47 percent of the vote, placing it well ahead of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which only won 27 percent.

The results are likely to set the tone for a busy election schedule in Turkey, which will choose a new president in August and hold a general election in July of next year.

Celebrations in Gaza