Baku, Azerbaijan, April 18
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has no political plans for the future, Turkey's Anadolu agency reported.
"Currently, I do not have concrete political plans for the future," Gul told journalists on April 18.
Earlier, 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.
Previously, a founding board member of the Justice and Development Party, Salih Kapusuz said that Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan can be nominated as a candidate for the presidential elections.
The results of the municipal elections showed that the country's prime minister is a worthy candidate for the presidential elections, according to Kapusuz.
The country's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also earlier said that the great support of the Turkish people and the results of the municipal elections give ground to say that Turkish prime minister can be elected president if his candidacy is nominated.
The presidential elections in Turkey have been scheduled for August 10, 2014. If none of the candidates gathers 51 percent of votes in the first round, the second round will take place on August 24.
As distinct from the previous presidential elections, the Turkish president will be elected by people, but not by the parliament as of 2014, according to the results of a referendum held in 2007. The Turkish president will be elected for five-year term instead of the previous seven-year term, according to the referendum results.
Turkish opposition is expected to nominate a single candidate for the presidential elections.
Translated by L.Z.
Edited by C.N.