Erdogan looks for first-round knockout in presidential contest
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will use all his power to clinch a first-round victory in the presidential race on Aug. 10, which is not assured.
The stage for Turkey’s August presidential polls was set on July 1 when the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) formally announced its founder and chairman, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as a candidate, with the opposition contenders already announced.
The three presidential candidates, representing four parties, will compete in an imbalanced and asymmetric race, swayed by multiple variables.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu — fielded jointly by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the second largest opposition force, the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) — and Selahattin Demirtas — the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (HDP), which recently succeeded the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) — will campaign in an environment of unfair competition against the prime minister.
Erdogan, Turkey’s most powerful politician by many standards and by a long way, wields a great advantage over his rivals: The state’s financial and physical capabilities will be at his disposal for his election campaign.
