Erdogan: 'Bigger goals after June 24 elections'

By Enes Kaplan, Baris Gundogan, Esin Isik

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s president on Thursday highlighted his party’s accomplishments since coming to power, noting the country will have bigger goals after the June 24 elections.

Erdogan made the comments while attending an iftar program at the Presidential Complex for mukhtars, or heads of Turkish villages and neighborhoods.

"Hopefully after the June 24 elections, we will be at our people's service with bigger and more challenging goals," he said.

Erdogan said that together with the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, he will create more jobs for the Turkish people and they are determined to make Turkey more prosperous in the coming term.

Last April, parliament passed a bill for early elections, cementing Turkey’s move to a presidential system.

Six candidates are contesting in the presidential race while eight political parties are taking part in parliamentary elections.

In an April 2017 referendum, Turkish voters approved the switch from a parliamentary system to a presidential one.

Citizens living in Turkey will vote on June 24.

Erdogan also spoke about the Presidential Library, noting it will house 5 million books once construction is completed and will be open 24 hours so youngsters can study or read whenever they want.

He said the library will be the greatest in Turkey and will have the most modern infrastructure.

Citing figures, he also highlighted his party’s accomplishments over the past 16 years.

Since the ruling AK Party came to power in 2002, the number of universities across Turkey has grown from 76 to 207, Erdogan said.

He said the number of medical staff had risen to 917,000 from 378,000 before 2002.

"Hopefully next year, we will inaugurate city hospitals in 30 metropolises in Turkey," he said.

In the area of sports, Erdogan said there are now 8.3 million certified athletes compared to 278,000 when the AK Party came to power.

He also noted that the number of broadband internet subscribers had risen during the 16-year term, with the latest figure at 69 million compared with only 3,000 before 2002.

"We added 29 more airports, as there were 26. We boosted passenger figures to 160 million from 34 million," he added.

Erdogan's wife, Emine Erdogan, and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu also attended the iftar.

Erdogan campaigned earlier Thursday for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Mersin and Hatay provinces.