Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 30 gave a speech at the AK Party’s headquarters in Ankara from a balcony to thousands of cheering supporters as early results showed it winning some 44-46 per cent of the vote, and the opposition CHP trailing with 23-28 per cent. Erdogan said on election victory “I thank God for this great victory and this significant result. Turkey’s enemies are disappointed today. The nation buried hands at the ballot box that tried to curb its independence,” he said.
According to early unofficial results, the AK Party received 47 per cent of the votes, with nearly 43 per cent of ballot boxes having been opened across the country. The early figures show a rise of nine points for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party in comparison to the last local polls in 2009. The results suggest Turkey’s 52-million electorate, including first-time voters – some of whom were active in last year’s anti-government ‘Gezi’ protests – have given their affirmation to Erdogan’s rule. It also indicates a convincing nod of approval for Erdogan in upcoming presidential polls in August should he decide to run, as many expect him to do after his three terms as prime minister.