Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated on Monday his party's sweeping win in parliamentary elections, as Turkey's currency rose in early trading after he said he would respect the country's "pluralist democracy."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media Monday as he leaves the Cankaya Presidential Palace in Ankara after a meeting with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
(Burhan Ozbilici/Associated Press)

Erdogan, a devout Muslim, tried to reassure secularists in a victory speech Sunday night after winning a stronger second mandate. He vowed to continue economic reforms and efforts to join the European Union. He also pledged to preserve secularism and fight separatist violence by Kurdish rebels.

The Turkish lira hit a six-year high against the U.S. dollar after voters re-elected Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. It ended up with nearly 47 per cent of the vote, up from 34 per cent in 2002, according to the state-owned Anatolia News Agency.

The election pitted the Islamic-rooted AKP against a secular and nationalist opposition, which had played up concerns that the ruling party would erode the secular tradition of the mostly Muslim country as defined by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

In his speech at a rally in the capital, Ankara, the prime minister praised Ataturk and sought to appease secular opinion.

"Democracy has passed a very important test," he said. "Whoever you have voted for … We respect your choices. We regard your differences as part of our pluralist democracy. It is our responsibility to safeguard this richness.

"We will never make concessions over the values of people, the basic principles of our republic," he said. "This is our promise. We will embrace Turkey as a whole without discriminating."

In his first term in office, Erdogan raised concerns with his efforts to make adultery a crime and appoint former Islamists to key positions. Critics also were troubled by his calls for the lifting of restrictions on the wearing of Islamic headscarves.

Turkish law bans the wearing of Islamic headscarves in public buildings such as universities, courtrooms and government offices.

Under Erdogan, Turkey has seen lower inflation, increased foreign investment and economic growth at an annual average of seven per cent.

With files from the Associated Press