News

Local polls have not whitewashed corruption, MHP leader says

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Whatever the results of the local elections, they should not be interpreted as an acquittal of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on accusations of immorality, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said early March 31.

Citing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s balcony speech where he stood with his family members who are subject to a graft probe after the initial results of the elections, Bahçeli said those who were saluted at the balcony had not been exonerated.

Hatay a rare upset for ruling AKP in tight race

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Lütfü Savaş retained his mayoral seat in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, but this time with a different party, following a close battle in the local elections on March 30. 

Savaş entered the race as the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate, after his former side, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), did not field him for a second run in Hatay. 

Savaş won 42.27 percent of the votes over AKP’s Sadullah Ergin, the former Justice Minister, who ended up with 39 percent. 

‘This is only the beginning,’ CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu says, warns of ‘witch-hunt’

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has evaluated his Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) results in the March 30 local elections as a “start,” while warning of a possible “witch-hunt” after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s aggressive victory speech.

French FEMEN activists deported after protest in Turkish PM’s constituency

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Two FEMEN activists, who had staged a protest at an Istanbul polling station in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s constituency on March 30, have been deported.

The two women, who are reportedlyFrench citizens, were detained after they showed up in Üsküdar’s Burhaniye Elementary School, where Erdoğan went to vote in a previous election. The activists, who had written “Ban Erdogan” on their topless chests and backs, grabbed and threw away several ballot papers. 

Ambiguity prevails in Ankara’s election results

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Only two hours after the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate for Ankaragave a balcony speech to his supporters early in the morning on March 31, in a declaration of victory for the second time within hours, the incumbent mayor of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), for his part, also declared victory for the second time. 

Parti Ataliaa soutient la candidature de Hamma Hammemi pour les prochaines élections

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Radio Mosaique

Le porte parole du parti Ataliaa Ahmed Seddik a déclaré que  son parti propose et soutient la candidature du porte parole du Front Populaire Hamma Hammemi pour les prochaines élections présidentielles, indiquant que la commission constitutive du parti a appelé lors de sa réunion hier  30 mars 2014, à tenir un congrès d’urgence du front en vue de préparer les prochaines élections. 

 

Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan declares victory after local elections

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
CNN

(CNN) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dominated debates leading up to Sunday's local elections, even though he wasn't on the ballot.

Even before results were announced, a triumphant Erdogan spoke to cheering supporters from the balcony of the headquarters of his ruling Justice and Development Party, calling the vote a victory for democracy in Turkey.

Erdogan said he delivered an "Ottoman slap" to opponents at the polls. He compared his opponents to medieval assassins, and he vowed to pursue them.

Main opposition's Istanbul mayoral candidate concedes defeat

Mar 31 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

The main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) mayoral candidate for Istanbul, Mustafa Sarıgül, has made the first statement after the ruling party’s Kadir Topbaş led the elections in the city March 30, promising to keep fighting for the future of the country. 

Sarıgül said he knew installing and consolidating real democracy was a tough journey, as the elections had shown him once again. 

Ruling AKP lawmaker announces resignation amid local polls

Mar 30 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been shaken with a fresh resignation on the day of critical local polls.

AKP’s Kayseri MP Ahmet Öksüzkaya announced via Twitter that he was quitting his party only an hour after the voting ended. 

“I am sadly seeing that my personal views on democracy, law and consensus do not correspond with my party’s policies,” Öksüzkaya said in a statement.

“I hope that all my friends with whom I worked with will accept my decision. I will continue to serve my country and my city as an independent,” he said. 

Ankara’s incumbent mayor Melih Gökçek declares his own victory

Mar 30 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Incumbent Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek has declared victory in his bid to win the capital's mayoral seat for a fifth consecutive time, dismissing suggestions from his main rival, Mansur Yavaş of the Republican People's Party (CHP), that the main opposition had won the city.

“It is an exact manipulation. Nobody should believe in the Cihan news agency,” Gökçek said, in an apparent reference to the discrepancies in reported counted votes by the state-run Anadolu Agency and the private Cihan news agency.

Difference between results normal, says Supreme Election Committee Head

Mar 30 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

There are natural reasons for the massive differences between the election results declared by political parties and those announced on TV as some channels put more importance in some regions, the head of the Supreme Committee of Elections (YSK) has said, adding that surest results would come from their committee.

CHP’s Ankara candidate announces victory, warns against ballot security

Mar 30 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate for Ankara has declared victory in the polls while calling on voters to watch over the counting process and their votes until they are delivered to the Supreme Election Board.  

“We received almost 50 percent of the votes according to the information we have,” CHPcandidate Mansur Yavaş said at a press conference at 8:30 p.m. local time on March 30.

Communists poised to win in eastern Turkish district

Mar 30 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey appears set for its first-ever mayor to win under the banner of the Turkish Communist Party (TKP).

Fatih Mehmet Maçoğlu is poised to win the district of Ovacık in the eastern province of Tunceli (Dersim) for the TKP, which entered the election in the area as part of an alliance with the left-wing civil organizations, Dersim Democratic People's Solidarity (DDHD) and the Democratic Peoples' Federation (DHF).

First mayor with a headscarf: Ruling AKP

Mar 30 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

Fatma Toru, the mayoral candidate for the Meram district of Konya from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has been elected, according to a local official of the AKP.

Mustafa Ulvi Bezirci, who chairs the AKP's district office in Meram, has announced Toru's victory. If Bezirci's claim will be confirmed, Toru will become the first mayor in Turkey wearing a headscarf.

Erdogan slams Gulen, supporters

Mar 30 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Press TV

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his supporters amid recent online leaks that have exposed major corruption.

“They are shameless,” said Erdogan during an election rally in Istanbul on Saturday, referring to Gulen and his supporters.

The Turkish premier has repeatedly accused Gulen and his followers of being behind the recent social media leaks and wiretaps that have led to a major corruption scandal.

Over 50 million to vote in tense ballot

Mar 29 2014
Turkey
Source: 
Hürriyet Daily News

More than 50 million Turkish people go to the polls to vote in the local elections on March 30, amid security concerns raised from both the government and the opposition. 

The Higher Election Board (YSK) has announced that a total of 52,695,831 people are eligible for voting, at a total of 177,044 polling stations. 

Voting will start at 7 a.m. in the eastern provinces of Turkey and will end at 4 p.m. In western Turkey, voting will be between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

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