regains majority.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the nation had voted for stability in
a parliamentary election that saw the AK Party he founded win almost 50 percent ofthe
vote and said the world should respect the result.
The Islamist-rooted AKP swept to an unexpected landslide victory on Sunday, returning
Turkey to single-party rule in an outcome that Will boost Erdogan 's power but may
deepen social divisions.
"The national Will manifested itself on Nov. 1 in favor of stability," Erdogan said in
comments to reporters after praying at a mosque in Istanbul.
"Let's be as one, be brothers and all be Turkey together.
But in characteristically pugnacious form, he also attacked the global media and its
criticism of him.
"Is this your understanding Of democracy?" he said. "Now a party with some 50 percent in
Turkey has attained power... This should be respected by the whole world, but I have not
seen such maturity. "
The AKP took just Shy of 50 percent of the votes on Sunday, initial results showed,
comfortably enough to control about 316 Of the 550 seats in parliament and a far higher
margin of victory than even party insiders had expected.
Following the vote, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu struck a conciliatory tone, asking
ruling party supporters to remain solemn and to embrace fellow Turks
"Today is the day ofvictory but it is also a day for humility," Davutoglu said, addressing
supporters in his hornetown Of Konya, where he voted.
He kept up the placatory manner during a victory address to thousands of AKP
supporters gathered outside party headquarters in Ankara, promising to end the party's
often divisive rhetoric and asking for the "blessing" of anyone offended by the harsh
election campaign.
Speaking from the balcony of AKP headquarters, Davutoglu also pledged to uphold
freedoms and called for opposition parties' support for constitutional amendments to
make Turkey's laws more democratic. It was not clear if the party had abandoned
contentious plans to change Turkey's political system to one that would give the
president more powers.
Davutoglu spoke vaguely about pressing ahead with a peace process with the Kurds, but
said Turkey was determined to continue to fight Kurdish rebels, who are considered
terrorists.
"We won't step back from our determination for a solution or from our determination to
fight terrorism," Davutoglu said.
The vote was a rerun Of a June election in which AKP surprisingly lost its one party rule
due to a strong showing by a Kurdish party. Most analysts had expected AKP to fall short
again, but the preliminary results suggest it picked up millions Of votes at the expense Of
the nationalist MHP and pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, or HDP. AKP's vote tally
jumped nearly nine percentage points. The secularist CHP was hovering around the same
result as in June.
With a dramatic gain that few had predicted, the ruling party's gamble to hold new
elections paid off. "It's a massive shift ofvote compared to the previous election," said
Fadi Hakura, a Turkey analyst at the London-based think tank, Chatham House
"Erdogan's focus on security and stability seems to have attracted Turkish and Kurdish
votes. "
Erdogan said earlier the outcome was also a message to Kurdish insurgents in the restive
southeast that violence could not coexist with democracy.
Security forces have been battling militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the
country's predominantly Kurdish southeast in a renewed surge in violence since a
ceasefire collapsed in July.
Response:
This article expresses the topic of the new Turkish government. This article is not bias towards the Turkish president, but seems against him. Turkey has voted and with over half of the population wanting AK Party to be in charge, the world should respect that decision. It seems as though the writer is not against the decision of the people, but the president himself. The president is mocking the world as well saying that the world is not mature enough to except their choice. Erdogan seems as though he is trying the improve Turkey, but he is being very prideful in his actions and is trying the gain the acceptance of the world. Erdogan has won the Turkish and Kurdish peoples'
votes and the world must accept that fact.
Cheshvan. "Erdogan: Turks Voted for Stability, World Must Respect Results." Haaretz. The Associated Press, 2 Nov. 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2015. <http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.683687>.
No comments:
Post a Comment