Turks vote in 1st direct presidential election

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_TURKEY_PRESIDENTIAL_ELECTION?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Turks vote in 1st direct presidential election
By ELENA BECATOROS and SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press
Aug 10, 5:36 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turks voted Sunday in their first direct presidential election, a watershed event in the country's 91-year history that could cement Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's position as Turkey's all-powerful leader.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade, is the strong front-runner to replace incumbent Abdullah Gul for a five-year term.

Now in his third term as prime minister at the head of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Erdogan has been a polarizing figure. He is fervently supported by many as a man of the people who has led Turkey through a period of economic prosperity. Yet critics view him as an increasingly autocratic leader bent on concentrating power and imposing his religious and conservative views on a country founded on strong secular traditions.

After a bitter and divisive pre-election campaign, Erdogan sounded more conciliatory in his final campaign speech Saturday, promising to "leave the old Turkey behind."