The local elections in Turkey on March 29, widely regarded as a referendum for the ruling Justice and Democratic Party (AKP) as well as for its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, raised questions over whether democratic reforms will now be initiated. Oli Rhen, the EU Commissioner responsible for enlargement, said that he hoped the election results -showing a sharp decline in the popularity of the AKP- would not weaken the governing party's earlier pledges to carry out democratic reforms. READ MORE