Polls say Turkish PM will win in first round of presidential elections, says AKP’s Çelik

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will receive more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round of the presidential elections and there will be no need for a second round, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chair Hüseyin Çelik claimed on June 2, citing recent opinion surveys.

Speaking to reporters after an AKP meeting, Çelik said five separate opinion polls suggested that Erdoğan would receive more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round of the presidential elections scheduled for Aug. 10.

If one of the three candidates receives more than 50 percent in the first round then they will be elected president; if not then the two candidates who receive the most votes will run in a second round on Aug. 24. 

“These are the results of opinion polls. We do not have the will or power to take control of the people’s will,” said Çelik, denying that the AKP’s post-Erdoğan future was uncertain while adding that the party had “no fear.”

He added that Erdoğan would work as a “maestro between both positions” of president and prime minister if he is elected, and also said Erdoğan’s resignation from the prime ministry during his campaign bid was “out of the question,” claiming that there was no regulation or law in the Turkish Constitution requiring such a move.