ANKARA - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late on Monday that elections in southeastern Siirt province was evaluated as continuation of November 3 elections, not as an interim election.
Erdogan responded to questions at a program broadcast on private Star television channel.
When asked about the possibility of his candidacy in Siirt elections, Erdogan said the elections is evaluated as continuation of November 3 elections, not as an interim election.
Recalling that those who had run their candidacy during that election would run their candidacy again, Erdogan said Higher Board of Election would call for names from the parties in case there are names who left the candidacy list of parties.
Erdogan said those should be completed till January 20 the latest, stressing that AK Party Central Execution Board would present names.
Stating that inhabitants of Siirt, NGOs, and party organization wanted him to be a parliamentarian from Siirt, Erdogan said, ''of course a party leader, who carries out the process in a political party and who is excluded from the parliament have negative consequences. Being in the party is different.''
When asked, ''you will automatically be the Prime Minister if you gain the right to enter the parliament from Siirt'', Erdogan said it would not be right to speak those issues at the moment, stressing that there was not any problem between the Prime Minister and him.