Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he will run for election again next year. After a possible new term in office, he would then retire in favor of younger politicians.
He made this known on Saturday in the northern Turkish city of Samsun. During his speech, Erdogan asked the population for their support in next year’s elections “for the last time”. In June, both the president and 600 members of parliament will be elected. Erdogan is hoping for an election victory for his conservative Islamist party, the AKP. A challenge could be the high inflation of more than 84 percent, which is currently under great pressure on the government.
Almost 20 years in power
The 68-year-old Erdogan has been in power since 2003, first as head of government and since 2014 as president. Over the past four years, he has been given more powers thanks to the transition from a parliamentary system of government to a presidential one. This supported his increasingly authoritarian course.
The last presidential election in Turkey took place in June 2018, when Erdogan won 52.6 percent of the vote in the first round. The requirements to be a candidate in Turkey are stricter than in Germany: the candidates must not only have citizenship, but also be 40 years old and have completed a university education.
Fake diploma?
Erdogan received a degree in economics and administration from Marmara University in Istanbul in 1981. However, opposition parties doubt its authenticity – partly because the institute was only founded in 1982 under this name and the people who signed the document also only took office from 1982.
Nevertheless, Erdogan wants to withdraw from politics after a possible next mandate. It is time to pass the baton to younger politicians, he said on Saturday.
Source: Krone
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