US congratulates Turkey's president-elect Erdogan

State Department spokeswoman said the OSCE reported that candidates were able to freely campaign. Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf on Monday said: "We congratulate the people of Turkey and president-elect Erdogan on this first direct popular election of a president. We also congratulate the two other candidates who fought a hard-fought race." Touching on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's monitoring of the election, she said monitors reported that candidates were generally able to freely campaign and that freedoms of association and assembly were respected. But she said that Erdogan gained a "distinct advantage over the other candidates" through his official position as prime minister and media coverage.