AKP in the lead with 54 percent - Erdoğan

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said his Justice and Development Party (AKP) still leads in popularity among the Turkish public, with 54 percent of the vote, according to opinion polls, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Erdoğan, who attended a community inauguration ceremony in the southeastern province of Gaziantep today, commented on the ongoing peace process between the government and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

"Terror didn't bring anything but hostility, hate, hunger and poverty to this country. Diyarbakır couldn't develop as much as Gaziantep due to terror. That is why what we want is not only to make terrorists lay down their arms, we want to shatter terror," he said.