Several days ago the presidential elections in Turkey took place. The leader of the ruling Party of Justice and Development, former Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, won the elections in the first round. Now the main intrigue is who will be the head of the government.
Togrul Ismail from the Economics and Technology University TOBB (Ankara) thinks that “one of strongest candidates is the current president Abdullah Gul. However, according to recent political events and messages, Erdogan and his supporters don’t approve of him. Otherwise the session of the top authorities of the party wouldn’t be appointed on August 27th, as Gul resigns on August 28th. So he has no opportunity to take part in the struggle for the position of the chairman of the party and later of the prime minister of the country,” the expert says.
“At the moment three candidates are being discussed in political circles – Ahmet Davutoglu, Numan Kurtulmush and Byulent Arynch. Of course, there are other candidates who can unite certain forces,” he added.
However, Togrul Ismail says that the key point is “what Erdogan’s view is, because during the election campaign he had stated many times that he wants to launch a presidential regime and choose ministers by himself. According to Turkish law the head of state can conduct governmental sessions and chair them. Erdogan wants to control the government through his party. Considering the party history of Turkey, where a party collapses when its leader resigns, and a new party is formed, Erdogan, the president-to-be, wants his party to remain and be connected with him. He needs his party to win the next elections and provide his further political career,” Ismail concluded.
