Key Issues in Turkish Politics Before the 2023 Elections

In 2023, Türkiye will celebrate the centennial of the establishment of the republic and will also hold a crucial election. The 2023 elections are one of the most important in Türkiye’s history. Four main topics will determine the fate of the elections: refugees, the economy, rising nationalism, and the Kurdish question. There are serious differences of opinion between the government and opposition blocs regarding the solution to these problems. Concerning refugee policies, Türkiye is still the country hosting the highest number of displaced persons under temporary protection in the world. While policies against immigrants are rising all over the world, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has adopted a humanitarian approach in terms of refugee policies. Erdoğan has also used his power of persuasion in society in terms of solving economic problems. In many parts of the world, the combination of refugees and economic problems manifested itself in the form of reactionary nationalism. Erdoğan, on the other hand, used nationalist rhetoric in an integrative way, blending the concepts of native (yerli) and national (milli). Although the opposition has not demonstrated a clear approach to these issues, it positioned itself directly opposite Erdoğan. Likewise, recently, a new approach has been adopted in terms of the solution to the Kurdish question, apart from the PKK. The 2023 elections will show which of the approaches of the government or the opposition wings coincide with Turkish society’s expectations.

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Key Issues in Turkish Politics Before the 2023 Elections
Wind of reforms and Erdoğan s step to catch spirit

Wind of reforms and Erdoğan’s step to catch spirit of time

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and its chairperson, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have completed their 18th year in government. It is an exceptionally long period for continuous rule by a single-party government in electoral political systems.

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Following a decade of fragile coalition governments in Turkey throughout the 1990s, voters reshaped Parliament into a more stable, two-party rivalry in the 2002 general elections when the newly formed Justice and Development Party (AK Party) entered the country's political sphere.

The AK Party and the MHP finding themselves at odds over certain issues is only normal and does not mean that their alliance will be damaged or come to an end

Political analyst, Nebi Miş, said the AK Party and MHP's possible election alliance is a necessary tactical move with the new presidential system, while the main opposition CHP has failed to create a long-term policy to challenge the other bloc