Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president who catapulted to power 15 years ago vowing to abolish army tutelage, has cowed a putative rival into staying out of the June 24 presidential race. He used the country’s top general as his courier, reported the pro-government news organization Haberturk April 26.
The piece claimed that the country’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin had flown to former president and longtime Erdogan ally Abdullah Gul’s home in Istanbul the day before and had asked him not to run. As the bombshell ripped through the social networks, the story was swiftly taken down. Haberturk’s editor was given the boot. Then on Saturday, Gul declared that he would not be a candidate, ending weeks of fevered conjecture over his plans. Gul explained that he had considered running as a presidential candidate and that the idea had been first floated to him by the small pro-Islamic Saadet or Felicity Party.