Turkey to get closer to presidential system after polls in August: official

Mustafa Sentop, the deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AK party, claimed that Turkey will be more closer to the presidential system with the next president will be elected by direct popular vote.

'It is a necessary direction for Turkey. Turkey will approve the presidental systim earlier or later. What makes the system a necessity is Turkey's needs, claims and its stability which progressively taken root,' said Sentop, speaking to Yenisafak reporter.

'It will be revealed that those who have considered and claimed our demand for a presidential or a system of homogeneous will only serve as a special model which was design for our leader, have been actually wrong,' said Sentop who is also a constiturional law professor. 'We still believe the presidental system is essential for Turkey and the process will take Turkey to this point.'

The deputy chariman also said the surveys which the party conducted, showed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be elected President in the first round. 'If the God willing, it will be our leader who will be ahead in the elections on August 10 and it will be our people, who will win the elections,' said Sentop.

Sentop also said that the opposition's calling the prime minister to resign over nomination for presidency did not have any legal value. 'The law and the decisions of Supreme Election Board is clear. In the past, Turgut Özal, Süleyman Demirel, Abdullah Gül and Ahmet Necdet Sezer were also nominated for the same office. Which of them had resigned?,' he asked.

'In this system, if the incumbent President had run for the presidency, he would not have to resing as well,' Sentop said. 'It's a completly futile debate over the elections'

Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, the leader of Republican People's Party, or CHP, was the first to call on Erdogan to resign on July 1, hours after the AKP announced his nomination.

Oktay Vutal, the deputy chait of Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP said Erdogan should resign in both legal and moral terms.

The vote will be the first time that Turkey's president is elected by direct popular vote. A presidential candidate will need more than 50 percent of the popular vote to be elected in the first round. If no one receives the required percentage, there will be a second round on August 24 between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first.