Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 6
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkish CEC banned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's commercial as part of a pre-election campaign in the presidential election, Haber7 TV channel said on Aug. 6.
The reason for the ban was using "adhan" (call to prayer) and other religious paraphernalia in this commercial.
It is reported that the Turkish CEC regarded this as exploitation of religious feelings.
The Turkish ruling party sharply criticized the CEC decision, according to the TV channel.
Earlier, the Turkish CEC banned the commercial of the ruling party as part of the municipal elections held on March 30. The reason for the ban was the use of attributes of the Turkish flag in the commercial.
The presidential election in Turkey has been scheduled for August 10, 2014. If none of the candidates gains 51 percent of votes in the first round, the second round will take place on August 24.
As opposed to the previous presidential election, the Turkish president will be elected by the people, not by the parliament as of 2014, according to the results of a referendum held in 2007.
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party nominated Prime Minister, Erdogan's candidacy for the presidential election.
Turkish oppositional Republican People's Party (CHP) nominated the former Secretary-General of the OIC Ekmeleddin lIhsanoglu as a candidate for the presidential elections on June 16.