Turkey is a Muslim-majority country where about 98 percent of the population believes in Islam and Turkey is among the few Muslim countries that have been considered the most secular.
There would be no country that has not been more difficult for the NATO alliance than Turkey. For other NATO members, the Russian invasion of Ukraine paved the way for an expansion of the alliance against a common enemy. However, NATO member Turkey maintained cordial relations not only with Russia. It has also threatened to block the NATO bids of Sweden and Finland. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled the country for the past two decades sometimes as prime minister and sometimes as president, has announced the election. This time elections will be held in the country on May 14, 2023. This time, the elections in Turkey are held a month before the scheduled date. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the second phase of voting will take place on May 28. In such a situation, let us know through this report that after the elections in Turkey, if Erdogan’s 20 years will end. What is the electoral survey and what is the history of this country.
Where is the country on the economic front?
Turkey’s inflation rate reached 85 percent in November 2022 after years of economic mismanagement. It then dipped slightly to 64 percent in December. This is the highest rate ever recorded in Europe. Turkey’s foreign exchange reserves are dwindling and the nation is facing a widening current account deficit. The population of Turkey is increasingly dissatisfied with the presence of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees that Turkey accepted at the start of the Syrian Civil War. Fatigue from Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic 20-year rule is also setting in. The whole generation does not know any other leader.
What will be the end of Erdogan’s 20 years of rule?
The 12th and current President of Turkey since 2014. He has ruled as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2014. This election is very important for Erdogan. After 20 years of largely unchallenged rule, a defeat could have dire consequences for him, his family, his comrades and many others in his Justice and Development Party (AKP) who have personally benefited from his rule and could possibly face a prosecution. . An opposition victory would also be a form of regime change, as its leaders support restoring Turkey’s parliamentary system and curtailing the president’s powers. Erdogan’s sense of vulnerability has become so acute that the government has used the courts to try to block the candidacy of a potential opposition candidate, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. This is an extreme step that can backfire in the end.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place simultaneously in Turkey.
The prime minister has most of the power in Turkey. Erdogan had abolished the post of Prime Minister. He started the practice of President in the country. Under the new system, presidential and parliamentary elections are held on the same day. The opposition blames Turkey’s economic downturn and Erdogan for eroding civil rights and liberties, saying the revised system of government is a one-man government.
What do the electoral polls say?
Current polls suggest that Erdogan and the AKP may be defeated in the May 14 elections. For any other leader, such unpopularity and economic malaise could spell certain defeat. But Erdogan is known for his persistence and his ability to win elections. Given how high the stakes are, they are expected to use almost any means to avoid defeat. As his recent foreign policy moves suggest, he too has a lot of cards to play. Europe and the United States must be prepared for such developments to minimize the potential damage and have a strategy to counter it. Turkey is too important a country to allow it to get away from Western influence.
What is the history of Turkey?
Turkey is a Muslim-majority country where about 98 percent of the population believes in Islam and Turkey is among the few Muslim countries that have been considered the most secular. Turkey was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922. Turkey gained independence from this empire in 1923 and the credit goes to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the former dictator of Turkey. Under the constitution itself, Ataturk gave the Turkish army the responsibility of maintaining secularism in the country. The use of religious symbols was also banned in Turkey. Erdwan is a staunch Islamic president of a country with modern and secular values like Turkey who also sees foreign relations in the same mirror.