Editor TLN
The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has convened this Friday the presidential elections for next May 14, five weeks earlier than initially planned, in the midst of the country’s crisis after the earthquakes of February 6. On the same date, the parliamentary electionswhere the Turks will elect their 600 representatives to the Grand National Assembly, the country’s only chamber.
In a televised speech, Erdogan has justified the electoral advance because the scheduled date of June 18 coincided with university exams, summer vacations and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Most of the polls show a narrow victory for the candidate of the opposition coalition made up of six parties, Kemal Kilicdaroglu (74 years old), although, taking into account the margin of error, the polls show a technical tie.
[Finlandia y Suecia no ingresarán, por ahora, en la OTAN: las elecciones en Turquía paran su adhesión]
Kiliçdaroglu has already achieved various political successes against Erdogan in recent years, such as his party winning the mayoralty of Istanbul in 2019 or having revealed corruption scandals of the formation of the government. It is to be hoped that the coalition – called the Table of Six – will maintain support for Kiliçdaroglu after the infighting that has ensued for his election.
The current Turkish president, who has led the country since 2003 – first as prime minister, and since 2014 as head of state – will face the closest elections it has had to contest in the last two decadessince the growing opposition in the country has been added in recent weeks by his management of the consequences of the great earthquake that devastated a good part of the nation a little over a month ago now.
Although the death count continues to rise, the quake has left at least 47,000 deaths in the country, with more than 600,000 buildings collapsed or seriously affected, according to official data. Among the measures taken by Erdogan in recent times is delivering 500 euros to each family affected by the earthquake, in addition to starting “massive operations” to build homes. In addition, it will allow those who have been forced to move due to the earthquake to vote in the city where they currently reside.
Kiliçdaroglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) has announced far-reaching changes across the nation, with the intention of undoing Erdogan’s increasingly protectionist policy. Its economic leaders have carried out a policy contrary to what is commonly accepted in the West, lowering interest rates while year-on-year inflation exceeded 80% at the end of last year. At the same time, the Turkish lira has devalued 80% against the dollar in the last five years.
