Sat, Nov 21 2009

Ruling party scores victory in Turkey's local elections

Mon, Mar 30 2009 12:01 CET byClive Leviev-Sawyer 803 Views
Ruling party scores victory in Turkey's local elections

VICTOR: Turkey's prime minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media at his ruling AK Party headquarters in Ankara.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on March 30 2009 that the victory of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in local elections confirmed the confidence of the Turkish people in the party.

Today's Zaman said that, speaking at a news conference at party headquarters, Erdogan said that his party had strengthened its position at the centre of the political spectrum.

Media reports on March 29 said that six people had died and more than 100 were injured in violence during voting in some ethnic Kurdish areas, but overall voting went peacefully.

Commentators said that the weakened Turkish economy, hit by the global crisis, had cost Erdogan the sweeping victory he wanted as a mandate to push ahead with reforms aimed at increasing the country's chances of getting into the European Union.

Daily newspaper Hurriyet quoted Erdogan as saying that the reasons for the party failing to secure an overwhelming victory included media hostility and the financial crisis.

Anatolia agency said that Erdogan's party got about 38.5 per cent of votes countrywide, with the main opposition Republican People's Party getting about 19.7 per cent.
 

Write comment

Name:Comment:

Generate new code
Send your comment
Turkey, IMF to hold further talks on deal

Assistance to Turkey expected to add up to $45 billion over three years, but Ankara cautions that there are still 'difficult issues' to be overcome

Six deaths, 100 injured in local elections violence in Turkey

Media reports say that situation in the country was calm but marred by clashes in some rural areas

Turkey's AKP set for victory in local elections

Justice and Development Party faces vote seen as 'referendum' on the governing party as it seeks mandate for reforms and action against economic woes

Turkey will receive 30 new F-16 fighter jets

Lockheed Martin won the $797 million contract to upgrade the fleet of the Turkish government.

Call for EU to prioritise press freedom in membership talks with Turkey

International Press Institute expresses concern about verbal attacks on news organisations and legal hurdles to freedom of expression in Turkey

Obama set for visit to Turkey

Obama is to visit Bulgaria's neighbour within a few weeks. Will Sofia receive a surprise visit from the new American president?

More in this category

White tigress slaughtered by lions

The white tigress is a rare animal resulting from a special recessive gene

Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine to form military brigade

The agreement was signed in Brussels earlier this week but it's still a long way off before the Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian brigade can be formalized as an international agreement.

Flu slows down Kyiv

Affected by quarantine and panic, life in Kyiv has been subdued in the past few weeks.

Poll: Number of Russians worrying about A(H1N1) growing

The number of Russians worrying about contracting the A(H1N1) flu virus grew to 70 per cent in November from 57 per cent in September.

Riots break out in central Athens on 36th anniversary of the Polytechnic massacre

The Polytechnic University or Politechniu in Greek, was the scene of a massacre in 1973, when Greek army tanks broke into the University and shot students indiscriminately, killing dozens of youths.

© 2000-2009, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.