Erdogan wins
Charlemagne 2018-02-27
Summary:
TURKEY’S prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pictured with his wife), became the country’s first popularly elected president yesterday, marking his ninth consecutive electoral victory during 12 years in power. He received 52% of the vote, averting the need for a runoff. The strong result will have a profound impact on the future of Turkey’s shaky democracy.
In a victory speech at the headquarters of his Justice and Development (AK) party in Ankara, Mr Erdogan declared that this was the “start of a new era”, signalling his intentions to continue to rule the country from the presidential palace and to give Turkey a new constitution that would, among other things, give him executive powers.
As president Mr Erdogan pledged to embrace all citizens regardless of their ethnicity or creed. “The national will” would now find its voice in the presidential palace, he roared. Mr Erdogan’s critics recall that he made similar promises in the past. Throughout his campaign Mr Erdogan struck an unabashedly polarising tone, taking aim at the Alevi faith of the main opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and the ethnic Zaza roots of his Kurdish rival,...Continue reading