MIDDLE EAST

Turkey's Ruling Party Wins Unofficial Election

Could be Democratic role model in Arab states.

Turkey's Islamist-rooted, currently ruling AKP party won the majority of votes during Sunday's unofficial polls for a new leading party. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's religiously conservative but fundamentally democratic Justice and Development Party (AKP) was boosted by votes from the rising Muslim middle class. Though the election was unofficial, 81 percent of eligible voters participated to give the AKP just over 50 percent of the vote, while its rival Republican People's Party (CHP) won just 25 percent of the vote. Number show that Turks are satisfied with the AKP's economic successes over the course of its 9 year rule. Still, the question remains whether Turkey will be governed under Islamist law or a more democratic system. Erdogan has said he plans to model the party on the American presidential system rather than Europe's parliamentary system. If so, his party could be a role model for Democracy in Arab states.