25/07/2014 18:00
Shakaryan: Most people will prefer any other candidate to Erdogan
In the upcoming presidential election in Turkey, most people are prepared to vote for any other candidate, but not the current Prime Minister, presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkologist Artak Shakaryan expressed this opinion at a press conference today.
“No matter how controversial Erdogan is, he did much for Turkey and he still has something to say,” Shakaryan noted.
Another participant of the press conference, Turkologist Hakob Chakryan said the presidential candidate Erdogan is restless by nature.
According to Chakryan, Turkey’s Armenian community does not exert influence on elections and the attitude to it does not change during elections.
“The Armenians prefer Erdogan because prior to his accession to power, Armenians were often deprived of their estates, while Erdogan passed a law banning that,” the Turkologist explained. He stressed that unlike the former Turkish authorities, Erdogan never made insulting remarks about the Armenians.
We would remind you that the presidential election in Turkey has been scheduled for August 10, 2014. If none of the candidates gains 51 percent of votes in the first round, the second round will take place on August 24.
As opposed to the previous presidential election, the Turkish president will be elected by the people from 2014, rather than by the parliament, according to the results of a referendum held in 2007. The Turkish president will be elected for five-year term instead of the previous seven-year term, according to the referendum results.
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party nominated Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's candidacy for the presidential election.
Turkish oppositional Republican People's Party nominated Ekmelledin Ihsanoglu as a candidate for the presidential election.