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Turkey's presidential election will bring changes

By Jin Liangxiang: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, August 14, 2014

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Newly elected Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves at supporters from the balcony of the AKP party headquarters during the celebrations of his victory in the presidential election vote in Ankara on August 10, 2014. [Xinhua photo]

According to information released by Turkey's election board on August 10, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's incumbent prime minister, has won the country's first direct presidential election in the first round, after taking more than 50 percent of the vote. This new development, though expected, will produce a long-term impact on both Turkey's domestic politics and the country's foreign policy.

Erdogan's election can be attributed to a number of factors. As an incumbent Prime Minister, Erdogan certainly has various obvious advantages, the most important being his access to government facilities and media. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, another candidate, alleged that Erdogan was using state-owned planes, helicopters, and other services while he could not. The complaint is not unreasonable.

But Erdogan's election actually hinged more on his domestic policy and his charismatic involvement in international affairs. His opponents accuse him of undermining the secular principles of Turkey and pushing it toward autocracy, while his followers regard him as a hero who saved Turkey from the economic crisis in the early 2000s and turned it into a prosperous and respected country.

During his years serving as prime minister, Turkey's inflation rate was kept between 5-8 percent, and Turkey's GDP growth reached 7.3 percent, higher than that of Russia, Brazil and South Korea. Turkey's GDP per capita also increased from US$2,500 to US$10,522 between 2003 and 2011.

Erdogan is also praised for his handling of regional policy. Shortly after Israel's "cast lead" operation in Gaza, Erdogan left the floor of a fierce debate over the Palestinian issue with Shimon Peres at the Davos World Economic Forum on January 29, 2009, in protest of the debate moderator's preferential treatment of the then president of Israel. Erdogan was also persistent in demanding apology and compensation from Israel after the country's military attacked a flotilla carrying humanitarian materials to Gaza on May 31, 2010. During the Arab Spring, Erdogan travelled to Cairo to demonstrate Turkey's support for street movements for democracy. All these enhanced his and Turkey's positive image within the region.

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