On Sunday, for the first time ever, more than 41 million voters in Turkey went to polling stations to elect their president by popular vote. Despite turnout being low, with some suspecting the holiday season might be the reason, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan handily beat both of his rivals with 52 percent of the vote.
Surpassing the 50 percent threshold needed in order to cancel a runoff election on Aug. 24, Erdogan plans to rule the government through a loyal slew of bureaucrats and technocrats. This victory, suggesting more of a coronation than an election given that the result was predetermined quite some time ago, puts Erdogan one step closer to the executive presidency he has long coveted for Turkey, increasing his authoritarian rule.
The Justice and Development Party (AKP), founded and chaired by Erdogan, has already begun deliberations to select a new party chair and future prime minister. Erdogan, who has ridden a wave of religiously conservative support, is purportedly considering selecting Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as warden prime minister in his place. Turkey’s 18th general election is scheduled to be held on June 13, 2015 to elect 550 new members of the Grand National Assembly. If Erdogan has his way, his “puppet,” along with other key cabinet members, will be in place for the next ten months, leading Turkey further away from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s secular ideals and democratic principles he imposed with the founding of the modern Turkish state.