The winners of Türkiye’s May 14 elections
After the presidential and parliamentarian elections held in Türkiye on May 14, Turkish and external observers analyzed the results to determine the winners or the losers. In this article, I will try to evaluate the winners of the elections.
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Renewed left-right polarization in Türkiye as election looms
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Tuesday unveiled its election manifesto titled “The Right Steps for the Century of Türkiye.” The 481-page text, which the party painstakingly thought out, comprises six chapters and attaches importance to future projects, ways to improve living standards, and pursuing ambitious goals in foreign policy and national security.
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We are confident that this issue of Insight Turkey entitled “Türkiye at the Crossroads: The 2023 Election” will addresses some of the issues that have been dominating the political agenda lately in Türkiye and we hope and believe that the insightful and stimulating debates raised on the issue will be helpful to our readers.
Political parties in Türkiye are working hard to finalize their candidate lists by the April 9 deadline. The relevant committees probably find it more difficult to select candidates today than ever. The already-complex selection process is further complicated by electoral alliances producing joint lists in certain districts and trying to predict how those decisions may influence the allocation of parliamentary seats.
It would seem that HDP has started dominating the opposition bloc with its radical demands as well as marginal discourse.
If the seven-party coalition actually attempts to govern, they will transform government agencies into fiefdoms loyal to different political parties and ideologies. Each political party will attempt to inject its own supporters into the bureaucracy, fueling fragmentation and even rivalries. It is virtually impossible to guess how many meetings they would have to hold to coordinate their actions.
Türkiye’s political atmosphere as May 14 elections loom
Although the checks and balances mechanisms in modern liberal democracies have increasingly diversified, the most effective means for accountability and controlling leaders is still the ballot box. Of course, free, fair and competitive elections are not the only condition for a regime’s pluralistic and libertarian rule, but it is a prerequisite.
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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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Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairperson of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), regularly complains about Turkey’s “artificial” agenda, but that did not stop him from starting a polarizing war of words by referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “the so-called president.” With voters unimpressed by his rants about the economy and coronavirus-related problems, the main opposition leader turned to verbally abusing Turkey’s president – the staple of his rhetoric.
The diversified nature of the rioters, and the beginning of the use of violence by these groups, as seen by their destruction of public and private property and the killing of members of the HÜDA PAR, raised questions about the protests.
