Turkish opposition's ideological mobilization ahead of elections
The 2023 presidential election in Türkiye, which will pit the presidential candidates of two major alliances against each other, created a state of great intellectual and ideological mobilization. With the distinction between “us” and “them” forming the backbone of politics, polarization becomes inevitable. Indeed, polarization becomes more intense and widespread due to the presidential system giving rise to alliances and the Nation Alliance uniting around "anti-Erdoğanism" after two decades.
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War of polls and critical silent voters in Türkiye
The battle of polls rages on with the Turkish elections less than 60 days away. Pro-opposition pollsters have been projecting a landslide victory for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the prominent opposition leader, as surveys on opposition-dominated social media platforms serve as an echo chamber.
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Türkiye’s pro-opposition circles have launched an excessive public perception campaign for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairperson and presidential candidate. The conservative parties that are part of the “table for six,” the opposition bloc that nominated Kılıçdaroğlu, and pro-CHP media personalities and authors lead that effort. Specifically, they refer to the prominent opposition leader as a mujtahid and draw parallels between him and Mahatma Gandhi to support his claim of being calm, collected, compromising, democratic and inclusive. Their praise for Kılıçdaroğlu comes with accusations against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – whom they see as the complete opposite.
On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree for Türkiye to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, 2023. The country thus started counting down to the most consequential elections in its recent past – and this year’s most important election worldwide.
The opposition leaders charge President Erdoğan with instituting ‘one-man rule’ but their solution is unimaginable. Nowhere in the world has political power been shared by eight parties
Having refused to meet Erdoğan, even in the name of national solidarity for the earthquakes, the main opposition CHP's Chair Kılıçdaroğlu set a high bar for critics by saying that the president was the 'disaster of the century'
Table for six built on the fault lines
The ongoing turmoil within the opposition bloc on picking a presidential candidate suggests that a possible victory by their candidate could trigger widespread political unrest in Türkiye
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Türkiye earthquake: Observations at ground zero
Based on my on-site observations following major quakes, I can confirm that the seismic activity has significantly transformed the landscape of the affected zone, resulting in damaged roads and railways, as well as the formation of numerous cracks across the mountains and plains
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Why does Türkiye want to buy F-16V aircraft and modernization kits? Why are there problems in procuring these aircraft and modernization kits? How would a lack of US sales approval affect Turkish-US relations?
Türkiye's upcoming election result will have seismic repercussions for the political careers of politicians on all sides of the political spectrum.
As the recent natural disaster activates ties with Türkiye, it is necessary to use 'earthquake diplomacy' to reduce tensions and improve bilateral relations
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged to “rebuild all homes within one year,” the opposition responded by launching a public campaign against the election’s postponement.
Lies on social media, racist accusations and destructive political allegations are what consist of the 3 radical discourses that have emerged right after the disaster
The disaster in Türkiye has once again shown how states with problems in bilateral relations forget their hurdles when faced with a humanitarian crisis
Türkiye will rebuild all disaster-hit areas, but there are many lessons to be learned vis-à-vis defending the cities against disasters
In the face of such a major catastrophe, it is necessary to leave aside politics and rivalries
CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu will not be able to avoid being the target of the agenda, whether he is a candidate or not
Many nations from all over the world have pledged aid to Turkey, and some have already sent search and rescue teams.
The opposition appears to have been apologizing for Türkiye’s foreign policy in response to the various forms of criticism that the Western media printed about the country in recent years.
The joint statement of the 'table for six' suggests that an extremely aggressive campaign is in the making
It is no secret that some Western governments have been unhappy with Ankara's autonomous foreign policy in recent years, so some have questioned Türkiye's NATO membership and policies
