Erdogan wins elections yet political uncertainty lingers in Turkey
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E-mail Xinhua, August 12, 2014
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Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate his victory in the presidential election vote in front of the AKP party headquarters in Ankara on August 10, 2014. [Xinhua photo] |
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Sunday's presidential elections with as many votes as a little over a simple majority, avoiding a run-off round and scooping up an election victory.
Yet an atmosphere of political uncertainty looms large as fresh controversy has erupted over Erdogan's term and party-links and concerns raised about who will control the government and the ruling party after Erdogan's departure.
According to provisional results announced on Monday by Turkey' s election commission, Erdogan secured 51.8 percent of votes while his main rival Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was able to get 38.4 percent of votes. The third candidate Selahattin Demirtas got 9.8 percent.
In his victory speech on late Sunday night, Erdogan's tone seemed conciliatory, a sharp contrast to the harsh discourse he used during the election campaign, promising to embrace all of Turkey's diverse factions.
"I want to underline that I will be the president of all 77 million people, not only those who voted for me," he noted.
But the opposition fears Erdogan will tighten his grip around NATO member Turkey by promoting an authoritarian rule and remains skeptical about his true intentions.
The main opposition group, the Republican Peoples' Party deputy chairman and spokesperson, said on Monday that the party will take a position according to Erdogan's actions.
"After elections, the future of Turkish people is under threat from one-man regime," he said, stressing that the party will fight against Erdogan should he decide to switch Turkey's regime from parliamentary democracy to president-centered one.
Analysts have also expressed concerns over increasing polarization in Turkish politics with Erdogan's transition to presidential office.
"Erdogan said on many occasions that he will exercise all his presidential powers. Now that he was elected, the concern is that he may trigger a constitutional crisis among separate branches of the government when he decides to control the government," Idris Gursoy, a political analyst, told Xinhua.
"That means we'll see clashes among state institutions, raising the political uncertainty further," he added.
The Turkish constitution, drafted after the 1980 military coup, allows president to chair the cabinet meetings, although it was rarely exercised by past presidents who wanted to project a state leader above politics.
Erdogan has said before the elections that he will lead the cabinet meetings, statements that reflect he intends to change the president's routine role in Turkey.
Accusations mar Erdogan's victory
After ruling the country as the head of government for three consecutive terms, Erdogan was hailed as the leader who turned the country's economic performance into a story of success. He is also remembered for reducing the role of the military in politics.
But his reputation suffered greatly in 2013 when mass anti- government rallies during Gezi protests tarnished his image of a reformist leader. The harsh crackdown on protesters who rose up against Erdogan's environmental policies received much rebuke from the opposition and Turkey's allies.
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