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WORLD NEWSTuesday 3 November 2015
Turkey president urges respect for his party’s election win
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, speaks to sup- DESMOND BUTLER counted early on Mon- of parliamentarians from
porters after morning prayers at Eyup Sultan Mosque in Istan- SUZAN FRASER day, the preliminary results the Council of Europe, told
bul, Turkey, Monday, Nov. 2, 2015. Erdgoan hailed a big victory Associated Press showed that the party won a news conference in An-
for his ruling party in parliamentary elections and called on the ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish more than 49 percent of kara. There were no allega-
world to respect it. President Recep Tayyip Er- the votes. It was project- tions of large-scale fraud.
dogan on Monday hailed ed to get 317 seats in the Any hope that Erdogan
(Presidential Press Service/via AP) a big victory for his ruling 550-member parliament, would ease media repres-
party in the country’s par- restoring the party’s single- sion evaporated on Mon-
liamentary election and party majority that it had day after a court ordered
demanded the world re- lost in a June election. police to seize all copies of
spect the result. Turkish financial assets were a weekly political maga-
The ruling Justice and De- buoyant Monday after the zine for suggesting on its
velopment Party, or AKP, AKP’s victory as investors front page that the after-
secured a stunning victory hoped it will bring an end math of the election would
in Sunday’s snap parlia- to a long period of politi- mark the start of a civil war
mentary election, sweep- cal uncertainty. The Turkish in the country. Nokta mag-
ing back into single-party lira was one big beneficiary azine said on its website
rule only five months after from the result, surging by that its chief editor and a
losing it. 5 percent or so on foreign manager were expected
With all of the ballots exchange markets. to be questioned for alleg-
“The whole world must edly inciting people to vio-
show respect. So far I lence. Erdogan had called
haven’t seen such a ma- for a new election after
turity from the world,” Er- Prime Minister Ahmet Da-
dogan said after attending vutoglu failed to form a co-
prayers at a mosque and alition with any of the three
visiting his parents’ graves. opposition parties in parlia-
It was an apparent refer- ment after the June vote.
ence to Western media’s Sunday’s election was held
often critical coverage of amid renewed violence
AKP’s policies in the past and Erdogan and Davu-
few years, including the rul- toglu argued that only a
ing party’s backsliding on single-party majority could
democratic reforms and restore stability.
moves to muzzle critical Fighting between Turkey’s
voices. security forces and Kurd-
International election ob- ish rebels has left hundreds
servers on Monday noted of people dead and shat-
that elections were free tered an already-fragile
and peaceful but criticized peace process. Two recent
media restrictions in the massive suicide bombings
run-up to the vote, includ- at pro-Kurdish gatherings
ing the seizure by the gov- that killed some 130 peo-
ernment of an opposition ple, apparently carried out
media company and crimi- by an Islamic State group
nal investigations of journal- cell, also raised tensions.
ists for allegedly supporting “The will of the people ...
terrorism or defaming Er- opted for stability,” Erdo-
dogan. The observers said gan said. “The develop-
the incidents of violence as ments in that short span of
well as physical attacks on time made the people say:
party officials had hindered ‘there is no way out other
many of the contestants’ than stability.’”
ability to campaign freely. Most analysts had ex-
“Unfortunately we came pected AKP to fall short of
to the conclusion that this a majority again, but the
campaign was unfair and preliminary results suggest it
was characterized by too picked up millions of votes
much violence and by too at the expense of a nation-
much fear,” Andreas Gross, alist party and a pro-Kurd-
who headed a delegation ish party.q
