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Thursday, 21 November 2024
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Turkish Press Review, 07-07-23Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning23.07.2007FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] AKP SWEEPS THE VOTE FOR SECOND-TERM ELECTION VICTORYIn yesterday’s general elections, Turkish voters let three political parties " the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, Republican People's Party (CHP), and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) " win seats in Parliament for the next five-year term. The AKP won another single-party turn in government with 46.5% of the vote. The CHP again kept its place as the opposition party in Parliament with 20.9% of the vote, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) got 14.3% and independent candidates got 5.2%. According to unofficial figures, the distribution of Parliament’s 550 seats will be as follows: the AKP 340 seats, CHP 112, MHP 71 and independents 27. In related news, yesterday’s voter turnout was 80%. /All Papers/[02] IN VICTORY SPEECH, ERDOGAN PLEDGES TO SERVE THE ENTIRE NATIONAfter the victory of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in yesterday’s elections becomes clear, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at AKP headquarters in Ankara. Addressing the ebullient crowd, Erdogan expressed gratitude to the people who gave his party another five- year term, the first time this has happened since 1954. Stressing that his party wants to develop Turkey further, Erdogan pledged to serve the entire nation during their rule. /Turkiye/[03] 27 INDEPENDENTS WIN SEATS IN PARLIAMENTYesterday the largest number of independent candidates won seats in Parliament since the 1946 elections. Twenty-three parliamentarians of the 27 had hailed from the Democratic Society Party (DTP). Former Premier Mesut Yilmaz, former Great Union Party (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazioglu, former Freedom and Democracy Party (ODP) leader Ufuk Uras and former True Path Party (DYP) Deputy Kamer Genc also attracted enough votes to win seats. In related news, 52 women deputies are expected to serve in Parliament, more than doubling the 24 who won seats in 2002. /Sabah/[04] AFTER DISAPPOINTING SHOWING, AGAR RESIGNS FROM DP HELMFollowing yesterday’s general elections, where his party failed to pass the 10% threshold, Democrat Party (DP) leader Mehmet Agar resigned from his party. In addition, Nuzhet Kandemir, the DP’s deputy chairman, also announced his resignation. The DP got only 5.4% of the votes following its unsuccessful attempt to merge with the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN). /Milliyet/[05] LAGENDIJK: “THE AKP SHOULD COMPROMISE”Commenting on yesterday’s second-term election victory for the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey-European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk praised the AKP as Turkey’s biggest supporter of Europe. Saying that he expects the AKP to find a compromise candidate for the upcoming presidential election, Lagendijk said, “With this triumph, the AKP should show those worried that Turkey’s secular character is in danger that they are mistaken, and prove that the AKP is strongly committed to secularism.” He added, “The presence of Kurdish politicians in Parliament will help efforts to find a political solution to the Kurdish issue.” Meanwhile, two Turkish-origin members of the European Parliament, Cem Ozdemir and Vural Oger, said that yesterday’s election outcome would have a positive effect on Turkish-European Union relations. /Aksam/[06] US’ BRYZA: “YESTERDAY’S ELECTIONS WERE A GREAT SUCCESS FOR DEMOCRACY”Matt Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, yesterday said that yesterday’s Turkish general elections were a great success for democracy. “One again Turkish democracy showed how it worked,” he said, adding that the elections had been free and fair. Meanwhile, Steve Larrabee, a Turkey analyst for the Rand Corporation think- tank, said that the winning margin of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was a serious show of strength and that the AKP would seek compromise in the upcoming presidential election. In addition, Zeyno Baran of the Hudson Institute said that the US will be glad to continue to work with the AKP’s one-party government and that the two agree on many issues. /Star/[07] BARROSO: “THE ISSUE OF TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP AFFECTS THE EU’S RELIABILITY”Turkey’s European Union membership issue is related to the European Union’s reliability, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was quoted as saying yesterday. Speaking to Greek daily Kathimerini, Barroso said that Turkey’s EU negotiations didn’t mean full membership, but there is a need to continue them in line with decisions taken. Asked about French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent remarks on Turkey, Barroso said, “If we accept that prior decisions can be changed every time a government changes in the member countries, trust in us would be jeopardized. I want member countries not to change the decisions that we took unanimously but instead to continue negotiations.” /Cumhuriyet/FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS [08] VOTERS SAID “STAY THE COURSE”BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)Columnist Semih Idiz comments on the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) victory in yesterday’s general elections. A summary of his column is as follows: “The only surprise of yesterday’s elections was the AKP’s margin of victory, because the outcome was about as widely predicted. Thus, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be able to form another single-party government, and won’t have to resign. However, the AKP didn’t get enough votes to change the Constitution, which means that the voters didn’t give it a blank check. The CHP, the real loser of the elections, will continue its role as the main opposition party. But it won’t take much time to see the uneasiness within the party after the election outcome. As many expected, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) managed to get into Parliament. There are many reasons behind its rise, including negative remarks from the European Union and escalating PKK terrorism. This is an important message to the EU and the US to understand what kind of a social reaction leaving Turkey alone on a crucial issue like the PKK can have. The MHP’s deputies will constantly bring this up in Parliament. But there’s no need to make too much of the MHP’s success. Nationalism is seen as important here, but though the AKP was branded a traitor by MHP, it still got about 47% of the votes. This will give the AKP the necessary push to find creative solutions to important problems. The voters said they wanted stability, showing that they expect that problems will be solved. They told the AKP to act flexibly. This shows that new developments can be expected in a number of issues such as ties with the EU, northern Iraq, Cyprus, and the Kurdish issue. Meanwhile, the AKP may be expected to put more efforts into overcoming the breakdown in EU reforms, because the voters, through so many voting for the AKP, showed they supported the EU process. I’d like to conclude with a personal view of the elections. There wasn’t much enthusiasm about them, but also no one can deny the high turnout. The nation showed in these elections they don’t want any more bickering. In the end, our democracy won. Our hope is that the AKP, whose rule will continue, the CHP, continuing as the opposition, plus the MHP and the independent deputies understand the nation’s will and take a conciliatory stance. If they can do this, Turkey, which has taken a significant step ahead, will win.” Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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