Having been elected as the chairman of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for the last time until 2015, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled that he will not leave the political arena, tacitly giving a hint that he will indeed run for presidency in the upcoming 2014 elections, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
“This is not a farewell. This is a rest, a break. This is a rest between the notes of the endless song. This is not a recess, this is a promise to keep and vow that we gave before. Even our recess is for our nation. We will be at the service of our nation by any means during our recess. We will do our best in every duty that our nation assigns to us with the conscience of our clause,” Erdoğan said in his address at his party’s congress, alluding that he aims to remain in power until 2023.
The fourth congress of the ruling AKP convened in Ankara, with the theme of “Great nation, great power, vision for 2023.”
The AKP proposes a major overhaul in Turkey’s political system, suggesting that Turkey should implement either presidential, a semi-presidential or a president tied to a political party system.
