Erdogan squeaks by election, but faces enormous challenges in security, economy

The surprising margin of victory for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party in parliamentary elections marks a remarkable turnaround and puts him firmly in control of Turkish politics.

Among the challenges Erdogan will have to navigate are renewed threats of civil war in the Kurdish southeast as well as a wave of Syrian refugees pouring across Turkey to Europe and major instability across its borders as the Islamic State group wages battle in Iraq and Syria.

The Justice and Development Party, or AKP, came roaring back just five months after losing its majority in a June parliamentary election, nearly doubling its closest rival in support and improving its results by millions of votes and about nine percentage points. The party has already been in power for more than 13 years, and the win cements it position until 2019.