Ankara                                                                                                                                                                                   06 May 2018                                                                                                                                                           (Anadolu News)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today on Sunday announced his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s manifesto ahead of the June 24 elections.

Speaking at the provincial congress of the AK Party in Istanbul, Erdogan, who is also the party’s chairman, vowed to bring down interest rates, inflation and current account deficit.

“With the presidential government system, national income will increase and — since it will spread further in the base — the gap between the income groups will close rapidly,” he said.

“Turkey is becoming an important power in the world. Turkey will be a global power, a leading force.”

Turkey’s first popularly-elected President Erdogan has served at the top post since 2014. Before that, he served as prime minister, from 2003 to 2014.

Should he win the June 24 election, Erdogan would be Turkey’s first leader under the presidential system, doing away with the prime minister’s post, among other changes.

Last month, the parliament passed a bill calling for early elections on June 24, cementing Turkey’s move to a presidential system. In an April 2017 referendum, Turkish voters approved the switch from a parliamentary system to a presidential one.