Ecevit: I Believe That Erdogan Is Losing Points As We Near Elections

ANKARA - Democratic Left Party (DSP) Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has said that he still was suspicious about the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and added that he believed AKP leader Tayyip Erdogan was losing points as Turkey approaches elections.
Speaking on CNN Turk on Saturday night, Ecevit said that in the beginning, many groups supported the AKP but doubts started being formed in people's minds in time. ''His secrecy about himself raised suspicions. People started thinking that maybe he's presenting himself different than what he is. I'm not as worried as I was in the beginning. I believe that he's losing points as time passes,'' he commented.
Ecevit also said that he believed the People's Democratic Party (HADEP) lost support and stated that this was a pleasing development for the Turkish nation. ''If we had stayed in power till April 2004, if we had continued our campaign more, these two parties, AKP and HADEP, would have weakened completely,'' he said.
When asked if he regarded the AKP as an anti-secular party, Ecevit said that the EU openly told Turkey that they would not support an anti-secularist government and they would take a decision in December according to the government that will come to power after the elections.
Commenting on the EU Progress Report's criticism on the ban brought to Tayyip Erdogan, Ecevit said ''I never liked such bans and I always spoke against it. In democracies, it is natural to speak against and criticize political leaders but we should not try to punish them.''
Ecevit said that his government successfully fought against anti-secularist activities and such activities dropped significantly during his government.
Ecevit said he was going to quit the DSP chairmanship but he said it wouldn't be right to propose a name as his successor at the moment.