Monday, November 2, 2015

Turkish PM calls for new constitution after election victory

Ahmet Davutoğlu called on Turkey's political parties to come together and agree a new constitution after his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) regained its parliamentary majority at a general election on Sunday.

"I'm calling on all parties entering parliament to form a new civilian national constitution," he said in a balcony speech to thousands of AK Party supporters at the party headquarters in Ankara, as fireworks lit the sky.

"Let's work together towards a Turkey where conflict, tension and polarisation are non-existent and everyone salutes each other in peace."

Davutoğlu described the outcome of a general election which swept his AK Party back to a parliamentary majority on Sunday as a victory for democracy.

"Today is a victory for our democracy and our people," Davutoğlu told a crowd of cheering AK Party supporters outside his home in the central Anatolian city of Konya, a ruling party stronghold.

"Hopefully we will serve you well for the next four years and stand in front of you once again in 2019," he said, referring to Turkey's next general election in four years time.

The preliminary results suggest that the ruling party's gamble to hold new elections has paid off. Supporters at the party's Ankara and Istanbul headquarters were already waving flags in rapturous celebrations. Crowds outside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's home in İstanbul were shouting "Turkey is proud of you."

The vote is a rerun of a June election in which AK Party 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 (HDP). AK Party's vote tally jumped nearly nine percentage points. The secularist CHP was hovering around the same result as in June.

  [todayszaman.com]
2/11/15
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2 comments :

  1. Turkey election: OSCE says 'serious concerns' over vote...

    European observers have said violence marred the run-up to polls in Turkey in which the Justice and Development Party (AKP) regained its majority.

    The OSCE said that an increase in violence, particularly in the south-east, "restricted some contestants' ability to campaign freely".

    It also criticised curbs on media freedom.

    Earlier Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the world to respect the result of Sunday's election.

    Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) went further and denounced the entire process as "unfair".

    In a statement on Monday, Ignacio Sanchez Amor, head of the OSCE observer mission, said: "Physical attacks on party members, as well as the significant security concerns, particularly in the south-east" had affected campaigning.

    He added that pressure on journalists - including a police raid on the Koza-Ipek media group in Istanbul last week - was a major concern.

    "Unfortunately, the campaign for these elections was characterized by unfairness and, to a serious degree, fear," said Andreas Gross, Head of the PACE delegation................http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34704834
    2/11/15

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  2. Monitors and Turkey's western allies express concern over Turkey vote...

    Turkey's Western allies have voiced deep concerns over media intimidation in the run-up to the election that returned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party to power.

    The surprise outcome of Sunday's vote could further entrench power in the hands of Erdogan, the dominant figure in Turkish politics for more than a decade who critics warn is becoming more autocratic.

    In a turnaround that confounded pollsters, Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) reclaimed the majority it lost just five months ago, returning the Muslim majority country to single-party rule once more.

    Erdogan on Monday declared the outcome a vote for "stability" after renewed conflict with Kurdish rebels and a wave of bloody jihadist attacks, and called on the entire world to respect the result.

    But the United States, a key ally, and two European observer missions expressed concern over the campaign, particularly the crackdown on media critical of Erdogan..........http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/91267-151103-monitors-and-turkey-s-western-allies-express-concern-over-turkey-vote

    ReplyDelete

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