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Turkish elections could shift president’s role

By Suzan Fraser
Published August 9, 2014 7:17am ET
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Turkish elections could shift president’s role
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan wave to supporters after a rally in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. Some 53 million Turks go the polls on Sunday to choose their 12th president in an election considered a turning point for the country of 76 million people, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vying for the position he has pledged to transform from a symbolic role into a position of power. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the former chief of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas are also running. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) | Burhan Ozbilici

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the front-runner in Turkey’s first direct presidential election on Sunday, says that if elected he will be an active head of state who “sweats, runs and rushes around” — not just a ceremonial figurehead as presidents have been in the past.

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