Erdogan’s Election Victory: Turkey chooses the uncertain future ! / Breaking News
It was about much more than just the successor of President Abdullah Gül. It was about a decision for a new political system in Turkey, the question of whether to persist the parliamentary system or whether a presidential system with a powerful head of state to be installed.
The Turks have chosen markedly. More than 52 percent of elected former Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s highest office. With his election victory significant changes in Turkey are at – Erdogan has already made it clear before the election that he seeks a presidential system.
“A president who is directly elected by the people, can not be like its predecessors,” he said. “As head of the executive branch, the President uses all his powers assigned under the Constitution. Should I be elected, I will make use of all rights. I’ll be a President for the record.” He also said he would be “no non-partisan president”.
Erdogan’s Election Victory:New Constitution with more rights for the President
The Constitution gives the President leeway in interpreting its rights. Predecessors left it at on representative tasks. With few exceptions, however, the president has no government powers, why is one of his goals, to develop a new constitution. This could happen after the next parliamentary elections, which for summer 2015, possibly sooner take place at the latest.
With this victory, Erdogan will go down in the history of his country. No one before him had been so long head of government – eleven and a half years – and no one has been subsequently elected president. Several times he has let through sound, as he imagines his future, namely in 2023, the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey to still be in power. Since he could run after three terms as Prime Minister not again, he applied just for the presidency.
The direct election of the president by popular vote in 2007 had reached Erdogan. At that time had Kemalist groups, especially the military, with all his might tried Erdogan’s party colleague Gul to prevent as president because they thought he was too religious and its commitment to secularism on which is based the Republic, doubted. Gül – and Erdogan – asserted themselves, the involvement of the military was a failed coup attempt in history.
Erdogan has made clear his policy that he no longer adheres to the absolute separation between state and religion. As president, he is not only supreme representative of the state, but also successor Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president and founder of the Republic of Turkey, secularism – with quite dictatorial means – anchored. Erdogan wants to break with the ideology. He conjures up a “new Turkey”, a religious Turkey, economically strong, nationally conscious – and pluralistic only as long as citizens do not criticize him.
The majority of Turks, confirming this choice, is standing behind him and this course. At least so much of the population is convinced that many critics of Erdogan did not even went to the polls, as the relatively low voter turnout suggests. A majority sees Erdogan a guarantor of stability and prosperity, and that seems to be the most important as democracy and freedom of expression. He has overthrown the old elites, the conservative-religious majority freed from poverty, given her a voice and self-confidence.
His brutal crackdown on demonstrators, which shocked during Gezi protests in the summer of 2013, the whole world to accept the allegations of corruption, his inability to criticism such as after the mine disaster of Soma in May, the Turkish electorate believes less than the changes predominate, the he has brought Turkey: the per capita income has tripled during his reign, from the inflation-ridden country a stable economic engine developed.
Agree that there has been electoral fraud are already appeared in recent days. Thus, more ballots were printed, as there were voters. The ACP wanted to achieve at any cost, that Erdogan in first start taking the 50-percent threshold, and does not lead to a runoff in two weeks.
Erdogan Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu criticized rival even on Sunday, the campaign was run “unfair”. In fact, the state media were almost exclusively reported Erdogan and Ihsanoglu and the third candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, largely ignored.
But the projection Erdogan ahead of second place Ihsanoglu is so clear that he inspired, by this success, continue its authoritarian course undeterred and is expected to expand its power, undeterred by warnings from the EU, it threatens hence the former course of reform and democratization. His most important project now seems to organize a parliamentary majority for a constitutional amendment to install the presidential system.
The question of who him as prime minister and as head of the ACP – he can not be a party member because as President – followeth, is secondary. Determine the policy is Erdogan
