Erdogan ready to run for president

“We have a system and this system is based on consultation. The most important piece of this consultation at this moment is my party. Whatever duty my party burdens me with, whatever it wishes of me, I will endeavor to do it,” Erdogan told Turkish media on Thursday.

Under the rules of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AK), the prime minister cannot run for the presidency in the country’s 2015 general election.

Less than a year ahead of the first popular presidential election in Turkey, speculations have been mounting over the future role Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul will play on the country’s political stage.

Over the past year, relations between the two Turkish leaders have appeared soured at times, particularly during the heavy-handed police clampdown on anti-government demonstrations this summer.

The Erdogan administration faced international condemnations for his handling of the crisis, which erupted in the country after police broke up a sit-in staged in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on May 31 to protest against a government plan for the redevelopment of Gezi Park.

The protests soon spiraled into nationwide rallies against the Turkish premier, who branded the protesters as “terrorists” and claimed the demonstrations were part of a plot to topple his government.

On October 2, Amnesty International accused Turkish police of gross human rights violations during anti-government protests which rocked the country in June.

The human rights organization also urged Ankara to tolerate dissenting opinions, saying, “The Turkish government must learn to tolerate the dissenting opinions expressed through street protests.”

Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has also criticized the Erdogan administration’s stance on the Syria crisis. Ankara has been a key supporter of foreign-backed terrorist groups fighting against the Arab country since the outbreak of the turmoil in March 2011.

MKA/KA

Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/04/327532/erdogan-ready-to-run-for-president/

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