Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his candidacy for the presidency with an impressive address to some 4,000 supporters in a large hall in Ankara. He began with a long prayer, followed by a lengthy account of the oppression of Turkey’s religiously conservative masses, whom he ultimately liberated. Erdogan called himself a mere mortal who serves a larger “cause,” whose previous leaders included Selahaddin Eyyubi, the great Islamic commander from the 12th century, and the founders of the Seljuk and Ottoman empires.

The audience enthusiastically applauded and cheered. A song's repetition of “Recep, Tayyip, Erdogan” filled the air, leaving many in tears. At the center of all this attention stood Erdogan, the only basis of authority, the only source of power.

Erdogan's announcement kicked off his campaign to become Turkey's first directly elected president. In the first round of elections Aug. 10, he has two noteworthy opponents: Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the joint candidate of the two main opposition parties, and Selahattin Demirtas, the candidate favored by Kurdish nationalists. Regardless, many in Turkey believe that Erdogan will win, if not in the first round, then in the second, on Aug. 24, in which the two top candidates from the first round will compete.

The current question in Turkey is what kind of “regime” will emerge after Erdogan's election. He has left no doubt that he wants to remain in office until 2024, at least, and turn the presidency into a powerful position, with full control over the executive, the legislative and, to some extent, even the judicial branch of government. This is why many of Erdogan’s die-hard opponents are already condemning him as a “dictator.” It all sounds like nonsense, however, to Erdogan and his supporters, who emphasize that he is in power because he and his party have been winning free and fair elections. Erdogan himself has said on many occasions, “If I am a dictator, then come beat me at the elections.”