Erdoğan congratulates new Malaysian PM Mahathir on election win

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated newly-appointed Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad over the phone on Saturday.

According to presidential sources, Erdoğan wished success to Mahathir and stressed the importance of increasing bilateral relations between the two countries.

92-year-old Mahathir, who led an opposition alliance to a surprise victory in Wednesday's parliamentary elections, was sworn in as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia on Thursday.

Mahathir-led opposition coalition Harapan Rakya secured 122 deputies in the 222-seat parliament, enough to form the government.

Former Prime Minister Najib Razak accepted the election result after his ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) won only 79 seats in the parliament.

With Wednesday's election result, UMNO, which was founded by Mahathir, lost the driver's seat for the first time since Malaysia gained independence in 1957.

Mahathir was the country's prime minister for 22 years, between 1981 and 2003, making him the country's longest-serving leader. He is also known as a close friend to Erdoğan.