World News:Erdogan set for Turkey presidency as main rival concedes defeat - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to be Turkey’s next president after local media credited him with more than half the ballots following an election Sunday and his main rival conceded defeat. Broadcasters said Erdogan had 52.0 percent of the vote, 13 points more than his closest rival. Such a result would rule out a runoff round and seal Erdogan’s place in history as Turkey’s first directly elected head of state, a role expected to enhance his power. In a Twitter message confirmed by his office, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said: “Erdogan has become the first president elected by the people.” The deputy chairman of his ruling AK party said Erdogan won with just over 52 percent. Erdogan himself said “the people have shown their will” but stopped short of declaring victory in comments to supporters in Istanbul. He said he would speak later at party headquarters in the capital Ankara once the count was complete. The main opposition candidate, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, was on 38.8 percent with 90 percent of votes counted while Selahattin Demirtas of the pro-Kurdish, left-wing People’s Democratic Party was on 9.2 percent, said television stations CNN Turk and NTV. In a brief statement to reporters in Istanbul, Ihsanoglu conceded defeat. I congratulate the Prime Minister and wish him success, he said. Turkey’s electoral authorities are not officially due to announce their first results until Monday, with final figures due later in the week, but Erdogan, 60, is expected to make a victory address later on Sunday. Plans to increase presidential powers It was the first time Turkey has directly elected a president, which until now has been a largely ceremonial role. However, unlike his predecessors, Erdogan has promised to exercise the full powers granted to him by current laws. The current constitution, written under military rule after a 1980 coup, would enable him to chair cabinet meetings and appoint the premier and members of top judicial bodies including the constitutional court and supreme council of judges. But he also plans to change the constitution to establish a fully executive presidency, something opponents say may create an increasingly authoritarian state. Turkey has emerged as a regional economic force under Erdogan, who, as prime minister for more than a decade, has ridden 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.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 20:14:45 +0000
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