Gaza, ALRAY - The Palestinian government in Gaza congratulated the republic of Turkey and its people on Erdogan’s AKP landslide victory in the Turkey’s local elections.

The government’s spokesperson told ALRAY, “we congratulate the Turkish people on their democratic choice and we call on Turkey to continue supporting the Palestinian cause.”

He stressed that the Palestinian people will not forget Turkey’s heroic stand towards Gaza, wishing it further prosperities.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party(AKP) won 45.9 percent of the national vote yesterday, according to partial and unofficial results reported by NTV television with 87 percent of ballot-boxes counted.

That’s up from 39 percent at the last local election in 2009, though shy of the 50 percent that the AKP won in 2011’s parliamentary vote.

The AKP was set to retain control of the biggest city, Istanbul, and was running neck-and-neck in the capital, Ankara, with the main opposition Republican People’s Party, which won 29 percent nationwide.