Erdogan's divisive politics will give him first-round victory

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fervent ethnic and religious discrimination will enable him to win in the first round of Turkey's presidential election.
People walk past election posters for Turkey's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan (L), Turkish main opposition presidential candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (R) and Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) and presidential candidate in Istanbul August 8, 2014. Erdogan is set to secure his place in history as Turkey's first popularly-elected president on Sunday, but his tightening grip on power has polarised the nation, worried Western allies and
People walk past election posters for Turkey's prime minister and presidential candidate, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (R) and Selahattin Demirtas, in Istanbul, Aug. 8, 2014. - REUTERS/Osman Orsal
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Kadri Gürsel
@KadriGursel
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According to poll results released on Aug. 7 by KONDA, a leading polling company, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will win the presidential election in the first round on Aug. 10, with 57% of the votes.

Konda carried out the poll on Aug. 2 and 3 in 30 Turkish provinces, via face-to-face interviews with 2,720 respondents. The poll has a plus-minus 2% margin of error. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the joint candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), is slated to obtain 34% of the vote, far below expectations.

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