Turks voted Sunday in their first direct presidential election, a watershed event in the country's 91-year history that could cement Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's position as Turkey's most influential leader. Erdoğan's main challenger is Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu, a 70-year-old academic and former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation who is backed by several opposition parties including the two main ones: a pro-secular party and a nationalist one. The third presidential candidate is Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş, 41, a rising star on the minority Kurdish political scene.
11 August 2014 - 04:55
News ID: 630287
