News

White House hits Turkey over vote 'intimidation'

Nov 03 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

The White House on Nov 2 voiced displeasure at the "intimidation" of Turkish journalists during an election that bolstered the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Just weeks before President Barack Obama meets his counterpart Erdoğan in Turkey, spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House was "deeply concerned that media outlets and individual journalists critical of the government were subject to pressure and intimidation during the campaign."  

Four reasons why the AKP won the Nov 1 elections by a landslide

Nov 02 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

A number of factors come to the fore in analyses explaining what had changed since the June 7 elections which helped the AKP regain enough seats for single-party rule. Here are four reasons why the AKP garnered more than four million additional votes at the expense of the opposition parties. 
 
1.Bahçeli’s negative attitude

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) base did not support the negative attitude of its leader, Devlet Bahçeli, especially during the coalition talks with the AKP.

EU says Turkish vote reaffirms people's 'strong' democratic commitment

Nov 02 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

The European Union and Council of Europe have both underlined the high voter turnout during the Nov. 1 snap elections in statements issued a day after the polls, while expressing a desire to advance cooperation with Turkey on a number of issues.

EU High Representative and Vice-President Federica Mogherini and the EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in a joint written statement that the Nov. 1 snap elections in Turkey, which saw a turnout as high as 85 percent, “have reaffirmed the strong commitment of the Turkish people to democratic processes.” 

Erdoğan calls for world to respect Turkish election vote for stability

Nov 02 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a call on Nov. 2 for the whole world to respect the country’s parliamentary election result, which gave the Justice and Development Party (AKP) he founded nearly 50 percent of the vote. 

Speaking to reporters after praying at a mosque in Istanbul, Erdoğan said Turks had voted for stability on Nov. 1 after the failure of coalition talks following a June vote. 

Turkish PM calls for new constitution after election victory

Nov 02 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Todays Zaman

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called on Turkey's political parties to come together and agree a new constitution after his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) regained its parliamentary majority at a general election on Sunday.

"I'm calling on all parties entering parliament to form a new civilian national constitution," he said in a balcony speech to thousands of AK Party supporters at the party headquarters in Ankara, as fireworks lit the sky.

Reports of security violations, threats overshadow elections

Nov 02 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Todays Zaman

As Turkey rushed to the polls in one of the most crucial elections in the history of the republic, reports of citizens in Southeast provinces being forced to vote under the surveillance of security personnel, fights breaking out in polling stations and electricity cuts fueled speculation of violations of election security.

HDP says unfair election conditions, deliberate polarization behind poll result

Nov 02 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Todays Zaman

The leaders of Turkey's pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) have said that unfair election conditions and a deliberate policy of polarization by President Tayyip Erdoğan explain their drop-off in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

 

The HDP was forced to cancel election rallies following two deadly attacks on pro-Kurdish gatherings since July. Television stations gave party representatives little air-time amid government attacks branding the party as the political wing of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

 

Bahçeli rules out resignation, says election results do not change gloomy picture of Turkey

Nov 02 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Todays Zaman

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who denied claims that he stepped down as the MHP chairman following the election results, has said Sunday’s results do not change Turkey’s gloomy picture and that he will work for the goals of the party until his last breath.

Polls closed in eastern provinces under tight security

Nov 01 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

Polls closed in 32 eastern provinces of Turkey on Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. amid intense security measures due to recent clashes in the region.

During the polling hours, police special operations team stood ready near schools in the Sur district of Diyarbakır, which had previously experienced eight curfews during clashes between security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

Turkey again at ballot boxes for knife-edge election, five months on

Oct 30 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

Only five months since the last general election failed to produce a single-party government, Turkish voters return to polling stations on Nov. 1, with slim prospects of a substantial difference raising the stakes for all parties.

The five months since the June 7 vote have seen renewed clashes between the security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), major attacks likely staged by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and a widespread feeling of vulnerability amid security gaps.

Turkish President thinks Obama campaign ‘master minds’ behind HDP

Oct 29 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

An ongoing tussle between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has reached Washington after the former suggested that a company that once managed U.S. President Barack Obama’s presidential election campaign has now been hired by the Kurdish problem-focused party to run its campaign for the Nov.

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