Erdogan rejects opposition calls for him to step down

Speaking to his Justice and Development Party's (AKP) parliamentary group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan branded opposition leaders' call for him to step down unethical. "Making such illegitimate proposals to a political party and its leader, which won 47 percent of the popular vote," said Erdogan, "violates our national and moral values, as well as universal democratic principles." Erdogan also criticized opposition leaders for commenting on the pending AKP closure case before the Constitutional Court could issue a ruling, saying, "Acting in place of the high court, certain politicians are attempting to carry out 'extrajudicial execution,' and they make proposals to rearrange the political arena. Law, politics and the nation cannot abide such an understanding." He added, "In democratic countries, the people decide whether a political party leader should step aside or continue his political career. Opposition leaders don't have that authority."