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Election results unlikely to decrease polarization in Turkey

As Turkey counts the votes in the March 30 municipal elections, political volatility is likely to continue.
Main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu casts his vote during municipal elections at a polling station in Ankara March 30, 2014.   REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3J6RM

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s polarization has reached such levels that, despite hopes that the March 30 elections would soften it, initial results indicate just the opposite is likely.

It was difficult to talk of a definitive early trend because two major news agencies were reporting widely divergent results. The reports of the semi-official Anatolian Agency clashed with the numbers from the Cihan News Agency, which is owned by partisans of the Gulen movement. This only confused Turks excitedly trying to learn what was happening from their TV screens.

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