ISTANBUL
Turkey's main opposition leader has criticized the country’s presidential election law as "unethical and unfair" since it does not oblige the incumbent prime minister to step down after nomination.
Speaking in Istanbul on Thursday, Republican People's Party chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu said: "This is not ethical…the main problem is that we are not racing under equal conditions".
Kilicdaroglu was discussing the August presidential election with non-governmental organizations and trade bodies on Thursday in Istanbul.
The CHP leader visited the Turkish Industry and Business Association, the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation and Turkish Medical Association.
Turkish prime minister and ruling AK Party leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to be a candidate for the upcoming election, where a president will be elected by direct popular vote for the first time.
Three ministers from the AK Party government, who were mayoral candidates, were removed from their posts in a cabinet reshuffle ahead of the March 30 local election.
The electoral law does not force ministers to resign due to their candidateship in local elections.
Kilicdaroglu said this was the right decision since the candidates compete under fair conditions.
"Not everything needs to be covered by the law. Conscience and moral codes should be in effect," he added.
The opposition leader said his party will finalize its decision on a presidential nominee following his visit to Germany this weekend.
Candidates for the August 10 presidential election can submit their applications to Turkey's electoral authority from June 29 to July 3.
A 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.
Opposition calls for no-confidence vote on Turkish PM
Turkey's main opposition party called for a vote of no confidence Thursday against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of knowing in advance of alleged corruption by four former ministers.
The move comes just a day after Turkish parliament chief rejected an appeal by the main opposition Republican People's Party for the setting up of a parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate allegations of graft by the prime minister.
The main opposition claimed in its motion that Erdogan abused his position by knowing of the alleged criminal corruption and failing to act against it, as well as "acquiring unjustified wealth."
Former Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Environment and Urbanization Minister Erdogan Bayraktar resigned from their posts after an anti-graft probe was launched on 17 December last year and EU Minister Egemen Bagis was discharged in a cabinet shake-up.
The main opposition also accused Erdogan of blocking legal procedures against the four former ministers, and impeding the judicial process after the anti-graft probe.
The Istanbul-based anti-graft operation launched on December 17, and another corruption probe on December 25, led to the arrest of high-profile figures including the sons of the three ministers as well as several businessmen. All those detained under the investigations were later released pending trial.
The Turkish government decried the probes as a "dirty plot" against it, constructed by a "parallel" group of bureaucrats which it said were nestled within the country's key institutions including the judiciary and the police, "targeting" Turkey's stability and development.
The group, allegedly run by a movement led by US-based Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, has been accused of conducting illegal wiretappings of thousands of people in Turkey, including a phone conversation between the Turkish premier and his son Bilal Erdogan.
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