 Mr Erdogan has been emphasising the government's economic record |
Turkey's ruling AK Party holds a clear lead as general election votes are counted, early projections suggest.
Initial reports said the AKP, which is rooted in political Islam, would have almost 51% of the nationwide vote, with about a quarter of votes counted.
The main opposition party is holding second place, with about 16% of votes.
The early election was called after parliament failed to choose a candidate for president, and was widely seen as a test of Turkey's secular tradition.
Voting was compulsory and turnout was reported to be extremely high.
Throughout the campaign the AK Party consistently denied opposition claims that Turkey's secularism was in danger.
"Our democracy will emerge from this election strengthened," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters as he cast his vote on Sunday morning.
Some 42 million people were eligible to vote in the poll, while 14 parties are vying for seats in the 550-member parliament.
Analysts suggested the final results could change slightly after votes are counted in Turkey's major cities, where the AK Party has less support.
Sentiments high
News channel CNN Turk projected that the AKP would win slightly less than 47% of the final vote.
But that would be enough to secure the party a majority of seats in the country's 550-member parliament, the channel predicted.
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Ankara, the Turkish capital, says people streamed in to vote from the early morning.
 |   |
Many people broke into applause as Turkey's military Chief of Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, arrived to cast his vote.
The early election was called after the generals warned that Turkey's strict secular system was in danger and the army was prepared to step in to defend it.
But now that ballot boxes have been opened, early results suggest many Turks do not see the AKP as a threat after all, our correspondent says.
Turkey's relations with the outside world, ongoing fighting with separatist Kurds and speculation of an incursion into northern Iraq were also expected to influence the vote.
Record of growth
The election was called in an effort to break a stalemate over a package of constitutional reforms proposed by Mr Erdogan's current government.
Those reforms included a proposal for the country's president to be elected directly by the people, rather than by parliament.
They were put forward by the AK Party, whose candidate for the presidency, Abdullah Gul, was repeatedly rejected by parliament.
Turkey's current president and its secularist establishment have vowed to resist what they regard as the Islamist agenda of the AK Party.
Mr Erdogan's government denies the claims, saying its record in office proves the contrary.
The government has overseen almost five straight years of economic growth and opened membership negotiations with the European Union.
No comments:
Post a Comment