Ghannouchi welcomes Turkish election results

The results of the Turkish elections, where the Justice and Development Party won, confirm support for the Arab Spring and the Palestinian cause, Tunisia’s Ennahda Party leader Rashid Ghannouchi said yesterday.

Ghannouchi sent a congratulatory message to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which he said: “I am very pleased with this honourable result which came at a very convenient time to confirm support for the Arab Spring and the Palestinian cause.”

The win “not only enhances the party’s credit after winning the 2009 elections but indicates its popularity ahead of the presidential election due in August and the parliamentary elections scheduled for next year,” Ghannouchi explained.

Early poll results revealed that the ruling Justice and Development Party led by Erdogan received 45.55 per cent of the votes followed by the Republican People’s Party, the largest opposition party, which won 27.91 per cent of the votes.