- Title: TURKEY: Campaigning ends in Turkey's first direct presidential elections
- Date: 9th August 2014
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (AUGUST 8, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) PUBLIC OPINION POLL ANALYST, TARHAN ERDEM, SAYING: "One survey we published yesterday puts support for Recep Tayyip Erdogan at 57 percent, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on 34 percent and Selahattin Demirtas on nine percent."
- Embargoed: 24th August 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAADWQ3LCJWXOCHIAB36QFZZZ66
- Story Text: Tayyip Erdogan is predicted to become Turkey's first elected president, as the election campaign came to an end on Saturday (August 9).
Turks will head to the polls on Sunday (August 10) with Erdogan saying a victory would fulfill his dream of what he calls a "new Turkey" and what his opponents say will be an increasingly authoritarian and polarised nation.
A victory for Erdogan would seal his place in history after more than a decade as prime minister, riding on a wave of religiously conservative support to transform the secular republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.
But his critics warn that a President Erdogan, with his roots in political Islam and intolerance of dissent, would lead the NATO member and European Union candidate further away from Ataturk's secular ideals.
"God willing, a new Turkey is being established tomorrow. A strong Turkey is rising again from the ashes," Erdogan said in his final campaign speech in the conservative city of Konya in central Turkey on Saturday.
Opinion polls put Erdogan far ahead of his two rivals who are competing for a five-year term as president. Parliament has in the past chosen the head of state but this was changed under a law pushed through by Erdogan's government.
"One survey we published yesterday puts support for Recep Tayyip Erdogan at 57 percent, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on 34 percent and Selahattin Demirtas on nine percent," a senior opinion poll analyst, Tarhan Erdem said.
Professor of political science, Ali Carkoglu, warned what those numbers would mean.
"If he [Erdogan] wins by more than 50-55 percent, then the argument will be that even when you form a roof opposition, composed by 14 different parties, he still can win by 55 percent. That actually is a clear signal of unrest within the opposition parties. The opposition parties will start boiling up," he said.
Erdogan has set his sights on serving two presidential terms, keeping him in power until 2023, the 100th anniversary of the secular republic. For a leader who refers frequently to Ottoman history in his speeches, the date has special significance.
The prime minister has vowed to exercise the full powers granted to him by current laws, unlike his predecessors who have played a mainly ceremonial role.
He also plans to change the constitution to establish a fully executive presidency.
On the streets of Istanbul, voters said they did not believe the election would reflect the true will of the people.
"I don't think the outcome will be good. I believe that there will be fraud. I don't think that elections will be fair and impartial," said Hanife Akyuz.
"Right now I don't think people will truly elect their president given the fact that the prime minister is using all the state resources for his campaign," said voter Bahattin Yilmaz.
Surveys put Erdogan some 20 points ahead of the main opposition candidate, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
Selahattin Demirtas, head of the pro-Kurdish left-wing People's Democratic Party, is seen winning just short of 10 percent of the vote. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None