Turkish Press Review, 13th August 2014

Most Turkish newspapers on Wednesday covered Turkish President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on outgoing President Abdullah Gul’s return to the ruling AK Party after the end of his term. VATAN ran the headline “Party leader will not change until the congress,” along with a photograph of Gul, Erdogan and their respective wives. The newspaper covered Gul’s farewell reception in Cankaya Presidential Palace in capital Ankara reporting that there was no obstacle blocking Gul from returning to “his party.” The AK Party will choose its new chairman - and subsequently the country's new prime minister - during a congress on August 27.  The front page of today’s HABERTURK reads: “Unity message at the summit,” referring to Gul and Erdogan's displayed unity. The newspaper quoted Erdogan as saying, “Only the party chairman will be changed” referring to the August 27 congress. Erdogan added that it would be "wrong" to name one person as the AK Party chairman and another as prime minister. 

STAR focused on Erdogan’s three criteria for the new prime minister. The newspaper writes that Erdogan said, at the last AK Party Central Executive Committee meeting, on Monday, that the new PM should fight against the “parallel state” - the movement, led by US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, that has allegedly infiltrated the Turkish state. He should also be determined to continue the ongoing Kurdish “solution process” and be a powerful representative of the party at the upcoming general elections in 2015.

Most Turkish newspapers also covered Turkish opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), lawmakers' call on chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu to quit following the party's poor election performance in the presidential election. The CHP fielded a joint candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu with other opposition parties in the election. He received 38.44 percent of the vote, coming second in the three-way race, which the ruling Justice and Development Party's Recep Tayyip Erdogan won with 51.79 percent of the vote. 

SABAH reported that in a press conference in Ankara on Tuesday CHP lawmaker Emine Ulker Tarhan called on party chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu to resign and convene an extraordinary party congress.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS quoted Tarhan as saying, “This understanding of opposition has come to an end. The CHP has tried to be like others and has lost. From now on, it will either draw a new road map or continue to deceive itself.”

Turkish dailies also covered the death of Academy Award winner Robin Williams in his home in northern California.

HURRIYET praised the famous actor's career mentioning some of his most memorable movies such as Good Will Hunting or Dead Poets Society. Robin Williams reportedly hung himself in his home at the age of 63.