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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Turkey's election: AK all over again | The Economist

"Turkey's election
AK all over again
It was an impressive victory for Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) party. What will he do with it?

Jun 16th 2011 | ANKARA AND ISTANBUL | from the print edition

THERE was a decided feeling of déjà vu when Turkey’s prime minister gave a victory speech on the balcony of his Justice and Development (AK) party’s Ankara headquarters after the June 12th election. When Recep Tayyip Erdogan was returned to single-party rule with a 47% voting share in 2007, he made identical-sounding pledges: to embrace those who did not vote for him, to mollify the opposition, to write a new constitution, not to interfere in secular Turks’ lifestyles, and to make peace with the Kurds. This time voters gave Mr Erdogan 50%, making him the first Turkish leader to win three elections in a row—and to increase his vote share each time. Turnout was high (87%) and the polls were unmarred by violence or fraud."

More:Turkey's election: AK all over again | The Economist