There is a general assumption that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan — following on the strong turnout secured by his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the municipal elections — will emerge as a candidate for the presidency and will win. The likelihood of this happening increased after Abdullah Gul, the incumbent president, signaled that he will stand aside and thus not pose an obstacle by running himself.
President Abdullah Gül has indirectly criticized formulas floating around about his position in the post-Erdoğan era, saying his word is crucial in the presidential elections because the issue individually concerns him.
Gül made this comment upon being questioned whether he would prefer being elected deputy of Bayburt province or an early election in order to take the seat at the Prime Ministry.
I had written in an earlier Al-Monitor article that the Erdogan government would be successful in the elections and the Gulenists would be the losers. Some analysts did not want to see this reality and failed miserably. But for analysts who understand Turkish society, the results are not surprising.
The Constitutional Court had ruled to unblock Twitter before the March 30 local elections, but waited for the authorities to apply a stay of execution ruling before making it public, the court’s head judge Haşim Kılıç revealed April 7.
Melih Gökçek from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has begun his fifth term as the mayor of Ankara on April 5.
Prior to the March 30 municipal elections, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had adopted strong anti-Western rhetoric, further tarnishing his already damaged image in the United States and Europe, as well as straining Ankara’s relations with the West. The question being asked by Western diplomats and Turkey observers is whether Erdogan, to normalize ties, will tone it down after the strong electoral results secured by his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has maintained that the strong support for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the March 30 local elections is a crystal clear sign showing that Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would comfortably be elected if he decides to run for presidency in the upcoming August election.
Ruling out the rumors that his party could support a potential presidential bid by former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said “a civilian should be elected as Turkey’s new president.”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has publicly expressed his discomfort at the Turkish Constitutional Court’s ruling to unblock access to Twitter, describing the move as an attempt to protect “an American company’s product.”
After the highly charged and polarized period leading up to the March 30 municipal elections, the people of Turkey remained glued to their TV screens until the early hours of March 31, following nail-biting races in a number of cities, especially the one in Ankara, the capital. One would think that the day after the elections would be a day to rest and recover from the hassle and fatigue. It wasn't to be.
The first thing to be said about the results of the March 30 local elections in Turkey is that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the clear winner. No one can dispute this. This does not mean, however, that the subject is closed for debate.
For one thing, it is hard to argue that Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the elections “fair and square.” The existence of a democratic environment in Turkey would have had to be indisputable for that to happen. This, however, was clearly not the case.
A Liberal Democrat Party’s (LDP) candidate has been selected as the mayor of the town Konakkuran in the eastern province of Muş, declaring the first victory ever in the party’s history in Turkey’s local elections.
Bülent Ateş reportedly won the elections by approximately 480 votes, according to the unofficial results, the LDP leader Cem Toker said, adding that they lost the position of mayor in the Malazgirt district by a narrow margin.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has downplayed the Fethullah Gülen Movement’s influence on voters and the results of the local elections held March 30.
“Let’s look at the increase in the [main opposition Republican People’s Party] CHP’s votes,” Davutoğlu told accompanying journalists yesterday en route to Brussels. “Does this 1.5-2 percent increase come from the parallel structure?” Davutoğlu asked, referring to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Gülen and his supporters.
El candidato del Partido Republicano del Pueblo (CHP) a la Alcaldía de Estambul, Mustafá Sarigul, ha reclamado este martes el recuento total de los votos en las elecciones locales celebradas el domingo "para una mejor aceptación de los resultados".
Sarigul, que fue derrotado por el alcalde en funciones, Kadir Topbas --miembro del Partido Justicia y Desarrollo (AKP)--, por una distancia de ocho puntos porcentuales, ha denunciado incidentes e irregularidades en el recuento.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul candidate Mustafa Sarıgül has called for the recounting of votes in local polls for “a better acceptance of the results.”
Sarıgül, who lost against incumbent Mayor Kadir Topbaş from the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) by eight points, said the incident-filled counting process was marred by power blackouts in several Istanbul districts and irregularities at ballot boxes.
Used ballots, marked for the main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have been found in the garbage of six schools used as polling stations in the southern province of Osmaniye.
A photograph showing the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Ayla Akat Ata searching for ballots in the garbage with a flashlight has gone viral on Turkish social media.
Power blackouts marred the vote-counting following the March 30 local elections not only in Ankara, but also in several towns in southeastern Turkey.
La mayor formación de la oposición turca, el Partido Republicano del Pueblo (CHP), recurrirá ante la justicia los resultados electorales de varias ciudades, entre ellas Ankara, la capital, donde el partido gubernamental se adjudicó la victoria por un estrecho margen.
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