Baku, Azerbaijan, April 8
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The upcoming presidential elections in Turkey will be of particular importance, and everything will change in the country after the elections, according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan said the presidential election candidates should be the persons who have close contact with the people, according to Turkish Milliyet newspaper.
Turkish PM did not name the presidential candidate from the ruling party, the newspaper said.
Today, the deputy head of the ruling Justice and Development Party, Mehmet Ali Sahin said that if the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is elected the president, then the current President Abdullah Gul could take the prime minister's post.
He said President Abdullah Gul has extensive political experience, and the ruling party would like to benefit from this experience.
Earlier the member of founding board of the ruling Justice and Development Party Salih Kapusuz said that Erdogan may be nominated for participation in the presidential elections.
"The results of municipal elections showed that the country's prime minister is a worthy candidate for the presidency," he added.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also said that great support from Turkish people and the municipal elections' results give grounds to say that the Turkish PM can be elected president if he nominates his candidacy.
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Turkey on August 10, 2014.
If no presidential candidate gains 51 percent of the votes in the first round, then the second round will be held on August 24.
In contrast to the previous presidential elections, the Turkish president will be elected in 2014 not by parliament but by the people, in accordance with the results of a referendum held in 2007.
Turkish president will be elected for five years instead of seven years earlier, in accordance with the referendum's results.
Turkish opposition is expected to nominate a single candidate in the presidential elections.
Translated by E.A.
Edited by C.N.