Organization of Islamic Cooperation

The 2014 presidential elections in Turkey mark the first time in the country’s history that the president will be elected directly by the people. On Aug. 10, the first round of elections will be carried out. If any candidate receives the majority of votes, he will become Turkey’s first directly elected president.

The Alevi Foundations Federations, which comprises of more than 900 associations, have declared their public support to Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu for the upcoming presidential election on Aug. 10, following their growing discontent with the prime minister’s sectarian rhetoric.

Ankara breaks the ice with Israel to push for a truce in Gaza, while securing a deal to ship aid to the under-fire Palestinian territory

Turkey has intensified its efforts to produce a lasting cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and to open transportation channels to supply humanitarian aid to Gaza, as the Israeli army eased its assaults in the Hamas-controlled enclave.

A reader who recently commented under the name “Kasım Gül” in the digital version of my column is actually quite right in his comment. Am I right, Mr. Ekmeleddin?

I asked a question in the column about whether you have done all you could for Gaza in 2009, maybe even sacrifice your skiing trip in the Alps?

The voting cards for the Aug. 10 Turkish presidential elections were unveiled on July 24. The three presidential candidates, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Selahattin Demirtaş and Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu have been placed on the cards from left to right, respectively, as they prepare for Turkey’s first-ever presidential election by popular vote.

Turkey’s presidential hopeful Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the former chief of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has criticized the U.N. Security Council for its failure to condemn the “disproportionate” use of force by Israel against the Palestinians.

Turkish presidential candidate Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu has said today’s Muslims are losing the religion’s spiritual side, adding the Muslim world needs a reform.

Speaking to daily Hürriyet on an airplane between Erzurum and Bursa, İhsanoğlu said religion has become more commercial.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to remain active if he is elected president.

"I'm not leaving you. I'm not pausing to serve. I'm not going to rest. In contrary, I'm nominated to a higher post to serve you, my country and my nation, better," Erdoğan said during his first presidential campaign rally in the Black Sea city of Samsun on July 5. 

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the joint presidential candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül July 3 as part of his campaign bid, telling reporters that it was a positive meeting.

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, a senior academic and diplomat nominated by Turkey’s two biggest opposition parties as a joint candidate in the upcoming presidential election, has commemorated the Sivas massacre which happened 21 years ago today.