(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled Tuesday plans for running the upcoming presidential elections with an eye to be the first president to be elected directly by voters
Erdogan's announcement came a few hours after he received his ruling Justice and Development Party or (AKP)'s nod for presidency
Speaking to a huge audience in a ceremony to announce his candidacy, Erodgan promised to be a president for all Turkish people
"Everyone should know that if I will be elected on August 10, I will never be a president of certain segment of society or a party but a president of the whole nation of 77 million people," he pledged
All 311 MP's in Turkey's ruling AK Party nominated Erdogan as candidate for president on Tuesday
He stressed that he does not seek higher positions but rather to serve his country
"We are not in politics for higher positions but for God and for the nation. We are in politics for the country, its flag and its independence." At least two other candidates have announced their nomination for the presidentical elections
The main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) candidate is 71 year-old former secretary general of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
People's Democracy Party (HDP), announced their candidate on Monday, 41 year-old Selahattin Demirtas
Turkish citizens will go to the polls on August 10 to vote for the twelfth president of the Turkish Republic
A candidate needs more than 50 percent of the popular vote to be elected in the first round. If none of the three candidates receives the required percentage, a second round on August 24 will take place between the two candidates who received the most votes
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