ANKARA
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party has criticized Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for not resigning from his office despite being a candidate for the forthcoming presidential election.
Haluk Koc, deputy chairman of the party, said Wednesday that the fairness of the election would be disputed with Erdogan holding the whole state power behind him.
The Republican People’s Party and the Nationalist Movement Party have chosen Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the 71-year-old former head of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, as their joint candidate for the election - the first in Turkey where the president will be chosen by popular vote.
Stressing that the Supreme Election Board is scheduled to ratify the candidates on July 11, Koc said the law holds that any candidate must resign from public service when his candidacy has been approved.
"Although the law on presidential elections is clear, Erdogan is still continuing to hold his office," he said. "If the judiciary in Turkey is independent, the Supreme Election Board must enforce the law."
Turks will go to polls on August 10 to choose their first popularly-elected president.
The public campaigning for the election will continue up until August 9.
Should none of the candidates take more than 50 percent of the votes, a second round will take place on 24 August between the top two candidates.
www.aa.com.tr/en
