Sunday, June 7, 2015

Turkey's Modern "Sultan" Erdogan Suffers Defeat; His Pol. Party Loses Its Absolute Majority in Parl.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- who has dominated Turkey for over a decade, first as premier and now as president -- has suffered the worst election setback of his career in legislative polls amid increasing controversy over his polarizing rule, the AFP (Agence France-Presse) website reports today (June 7, 2015).

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by Erdogan won the most votes in today's elections, but lost its absolute majority in parliament for the first time since it came to power in 2002.

The result has scuttled Erdogan's plan to push through the constitutional changes he yearns for to create a presidential system that would give him greater powers.

In the last two years, Erdogan has become an increasingly divisive figure, hated by a plethora of secular Turks who see him as an autocrat bent on Islamizing Turkey.

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