Turkey’s main opposition candidate Muharrem Ince has conceded defeat in Sunday’s presidential and parliamentary elections, calling on the victor, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who returns as president, to end his divisive policies.
Advertisement
There were another four candidates on the presidential ballot, all of whom fell below 10% of the vote.
The People’s Alliance, between Erdogan’s AK Party and the nationalist MHP, also secured a parliamentary majority with a combined share of 53.7 percent, according to the unofficial results.
After being declared the victor, Erdogan on June 25 said he would act more decisively against terrorist organizations and would liberate more territory in Syria to allow “our guests” to go home safely, referring to the thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled the bloody seven-year civil war in the Middle East country.
The BBC says that in winning the election, Erdogan will “assume major new powers under Turkey’s new constitution”.
“We encourage all of Turkey’s elected representatives, including President Erdogan, to represent the diverse views of all of Turkey’s citizens and to strengthen Turkey’s democracy”.
The victory allows Erdogan to further consolidate political power and implement the constitutional reforms. How long will Erdogan be president? Under the system, the office of the prime minister is eliminated and executive powers are transferred to the president, who can rule with limited checks and balances.
“It is very depressing for the opposition as the election was the last window for them” before Erdogan assumes the executive presidency with additional powers, said Skinner.
In the opposition camp, the CHP had 23 per cent and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) 11 per cent – above the threshold it needs to reach to enter parliament. Had the HDP fallen short, its seats would have gone to the AKP. He said his party made mistakes in the elections but declined to elaborate on them or say whether he would assume a role within it.
Investors would welcome the prospect of a stable working relationship between the president and the new Parliament, although they also have concerns about Erdogan’s recent comments suggesting he wants to take greater control of monetary policy.
“There are many things about Erdogan that I don’t like”, she said. The powers in question include the abilities to pick cabinet ministers from outside of the legislature, pass laws by decree, single-handedly declare a state of emergency and launch extraordinary elections.
In his victory speech to supporters early on Monday morning, Mr Erdogan vowed to bring the new presidential system into being “rapidly”. Western countries are concerned about Turkish ties with Russian Federation.
According to Paul Levin, director of Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies, Turkey’s worldwide position will remain the same in the medium to long term. “Our country will only continue to grow with him”. If Erdoğan’s victory holds up, he’ll be able to run for possibly two more terms, possibly extending his rule past 2030.
“Have no fear and don’t believe in demoralising reports”, Ince said after polls closed. Ince, his closest rival, won 30.6 per cent.
The state of the economy dominated discussions in the run-up to the vote, which came against a conflicting backdrop of skyrocketing growth – at 7.4 percent past year – and a declining lira, down 20 percent against the USA dollar.
The party’s success comes despite the fact its presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas is in a high-security prison on terror charges, which he firmly denies. He has said his imprisonment was to silence him.
Advertisement
Although Erdogan dominated airtime on a pliant mainstream media, Ince finished his campaign with eye-catching mass rallies, including a mega meeting in Istanbul on Saturday attended by hundreds of thousands.
