Elections in Turkey
Shortly before the parliamentary elections this Sunday, the parties remain entrenched in their positions. Turkish society is divided along lines of political conflict, and the opposition's nationalistic rhetoric is coming across loud and clear. Ömer Erzeren reports from Istanbul
Backs to the wall: The AKP under Erdogan must reach a compromise with its political opponents, even though it has a good chance of winning the election
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's governing 'Justice and Development Party' (AKP) hopes to win an absolute majority of seats in the parliamentary elections on July 22nd. In the 2002 elections the party gained 34% of the vote and was able to claim almost two thirds of the parliamentary mandates.
The focus of the AKP's election campaign is Turkey's economic development and the resulting high growth rate. Erdogan is promising to maintain continuity in governmental policy.
The AKP's political failures
But the conservative Islamic party is in a weakened position. It did not seek a compromise with the opposition during the presidential election in April. The opposition referred the result to the constitutional court, which found that the AKP candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, had failed to win the required two-thirds majority.
A declaration circulated by the General Staff of the Military on its website accused the government of undermining laicism – the separation of state and religion stipulated by the constitution. Mass demonstrations in many of Turkey's big cities, primarily by women and the urban middle classes, were targeted directly at the government, which was accused of having a secret 'Islamist agenda'.
Furthermore, an increasing number of soldiers and civilians were killed by mines and attacks by the Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan People's Party) in the summer months. Cabinet members were booed at the funerals of fallen soldiers.
Vote hunting with nationalistic issues
In its election campaign the CHP under Deniz Baykal rails about nationalistic issues and accuses the AKP of "selling out national interests"
The 'Republican People's Party' (CHP) is trying to win votes with nationalistic rhetoric that makes 'terrorism' the decisive issue of this election. Its chairman, Deniz Baykal, abandoned social-democratic positions a long time ago and now promulgates a nationalistic, populist programme.
In the 2002 election the CHP won 19% of the vote, and was the only opposition party to make it into parliament. It can expect to improve on this result in the upcoming election, particularly because this time it is standing in alliance with the 'Party of the Democratic Left' (DSP).
The AKP has lost support as a result of the government's neo-liberal economic policy, which failed to provide adequate social cushioning for the less well-off. Fear of material impoverishment and the consequences of globalisation are issues raised by the CHP in conjunction with nationalism in its election campaign.
Baykal's discourse concludes that the controversial privatisations carried out by the AKP government, like the increase in PKK attacks, indicate that the AKP is 'selling out national interests'.
Mobilization of the far-right parties
The far-right 'Nationalist Movement Party' (MHP) goes one step further. For the party chairman, Devlet Bahceli, Prime Minister Erdogan is the 'greatest political terrorist and arsonist'.
At an election rally Bahceli waves a gallows in the air. 'String him up!' he cries, referring to the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison. The MHP demands an immediate military invasion of Kurdish northern Iraq, where the PKK has bases.
In the last elections the MHP got 8.3% of the vote. As this was below the required 10% it was not able to take up any seats in parliament. However, given the feverish mood that has strengthened the nationalist camp it is very likely that in the MHP will manage to clear the 10% hurdle in this election, and will thus enter the parliament.
Even the 'Young Party' (GP), founded by the obscure businessmen and multi-millionaire Cem Uzan – whose father and brother have been on the run for years over charges of tax evasion – might make it into parliament. Uzan's attacks on the AKP government are no less right-wing in their rhetoric than those of the MHP.
This election is thus a confrontation between two irreconcilable camps. Even if the AKP does win an absolute majority, it will find it more difficult to govern after recent political events than in the previous legislative period.
The AKP would have to make political compromises in the selection of a new Turkish president, which is due to take place immediately after the parliamentary elections. However, if it fails to get an absolute majority it will be virtually impossible for it to find a coalition partner.
The independents' chances
In addition, some 'independent' candidates will enter parliament in this election. In 2002, the Kurdish 'Democratic Society Party' (DTP) gained more than 6% of the vote nationwide. This time it is sending so-called 'independents', 'non-party candidates', into the running, for whom the 10% hurdle does not apply.
The Kurds are predicted to be able to count around 20 or 30 members of parliament – enough to combine at a later point within the party and form a parliamentary faction. Independent left-wing candidates in Turkish cities are also considered to have a chance.
Should the independents go so far as to prevent both the AKP and the 'national parties' from getting a parliamentary majority, the country would effectively become ungovernable. Forming a coalition with them is regarded as categorically unacceptable by all major parties. At any rate, if the AKP fails to win a clear majority it is very likely that the resulting government will be politically unstable.
Ömer Erzeren
© Qantara.de 2007
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Printversion
An Irreconcilable Political Situation
Shortly before the parliamentary elections this Sunday, the parties remain entrenched in their positions. Turkish society is divided along lines of political conflict, and the opposition's nationalistic rhetoric is coming across loud and clear. Ömer Erzeren reports from Istanbul
; "photo: AP")
Backs to the wall: The AKP under Erdogan must reach a compromise with its political opponents, even though it has a good chance of winning the election
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's governing 'Justice and Development Party' (AKP) hopes to win an absolute majority of seats in the parliamentary elections on July 22nd. In the 2002 elections the party gained 34% of the vote and was able to claim almost two thirds of the parliamentary mandates. The focus of the AKP's election campaign is Turkey's economic development and the resulting high growth rate. Erdogan is promising to maintain continuity in governmental policy.
The AKP's political failures
But the conservative Islamic party is in a weakened position. It did not seek a compromise with the opposition during the presidential election in April. The opposition referred the result to the constitutional court, which found that the AKP candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, had failed to win the required two-thirds majority.
A declaration circulated by the General Staff of the Military on its website accused the government of undermining laicism – the separation of state and religion stipulated by the constitution. Mass demonstrations in many of Turkey's big cities, primarily by women and the urban middle classes, were targeted directly at the government, which was accused of having a secret 'Islamist agenda'.
Furthermore, an increasing number of soldiers and civilians were killed by mines and attacks by the Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan People's Party) in the summer months. Cabinet members were booed at the funerals of fallen soldiers.
Vote hunting with nationalistic issues
; "photo: AP")
In its election campaign the CHP under Deniz Baykal rails about nationalistic issues and accuses the AKP of "selling out national interests"
The 'Republican People's Party' (CHP) is trying to win votes with nationalistic rhetoric that makes 'terrorism' the decisive issue of this election. Its chairman, Deniz Baykal, abandoned social-democratic positions a long time ago and now promulgates a nationalistic, populist programme.In the 2002 election the CHP won 19% of the vote, and was the only opposition party to make it into parliament. It can expect to improve on this result in the upcoming election, particularly because this time it is standing in alliance with the 'Party of the Democratic Left' (DSP).
The AKP has lost support as a result of the government's neo-liberal economic policy, which failed to provide adequate social cushioning for the less well-off. Fear of material impoverishment and the consequences of globalisation are issues raised by the CHP in conjunction with nationalism in its election campaign.
Baykal's discourse concludes that the controversial privatisations carried out by the AKP government, like the increase in PKK attacks, indicate that the AKP is 'selling out national interests'.
Mobilization of the far-right parties
The far-right 'Nationalist Movement Party' (MHP) goes one step further. For the party chairman, Devlet Bahceli, Prime Minister Erdogan is the 'greatest political terrorist and arsonist'.
At an election rally Bahceli waves a gallows in the air. 'String him up!' he cries, referring to the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison. The MHP demands an immediate military invasion of Kurdish northern Iraq, where the PKK has bases.
In the last elections the MHP got 8.3% of the vote. As this was below the required 10% it was not able to take up any seats in parliament. However, given the feverish mood that has strengthened the nationalist camp it is very likely that in the MHP will manage to clear the 10% hurdle in this election, and will thus enter the parliament.
Even the 'Young Party' (GP), founded by the obscure businessmen and multi-millionaire Cem Uzan – whose father and brother have been on the run for years over charges of tax evasion – might make it into parliament. Uzan's attacks on the AKP government are no less right-wing in their rhetoric than those of the MHP.
This election is thus a confrontation between two irreconcilable camps. Even if the AKP does win an absolute majority, it will find it more difficult to govern after recent political events than in the previous legislative period.
The AKP would have to make political compromises in the selection of a new Turkish president, which is due to take place immediately after the parliamentary elections. However, if it fails to get an absolute majority it will be virtually impossible for it to find a coalition partner.
The independents' chances
In addition, some 'independent' candidates will enter parliament in this election. In 2002, the Kurdish 'Democratic Society Party' (DTP) gained more than 6% of the vote nationwide. This time it is sending so-called 'independents', 'non-party candidates', into the running, for whom the 10% hurdle does not apply.
The Kurds are predicted to be able to count around 20 or 30 members of parliament – enough to combine at a later point within the party and form a parliamentary faction. Independent left-wing candidates in Turkish cities are also considered to have a chance.
Should the independents go so far as to prevent both the AKP and the 'national parties' from getting a parliamentary majority, the country would effectively become ungovernable. Forming a coalition with them is regarded as categorically unacceptable by all major parties. At any rate, if the AKP fails to win a clear majority it is very likely that the resulting government will be politically unstable.
Ömer Erzeren
© Qantara.de 2007
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Qantara.de
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Legal Proceedings against Politicians in Diyarbakir
Multilingualism as a Separatist Crime
Public prosecutors in Turkey are bringing an increasing number of politically motivated court cases against Kurdish local politicians in south-east Anatolia who are standing up for the recognition of the cultural and social rights of the Kurds. The charge is always the same, namely the dissemination of separatist propaganda. Ömer Erzeren has the details
Turkey's Political Crisis
Fanning the Flames of Fear
The mass rallies against the conservative Islamic government, such as the one that recently took place in Izmir, are drawing attention to the widely feared creeping Islamicization of Turkey and the country's current political crisis. Ömer Erzeren reports
Dossier
Turkey and Europe
Few political issues are as contested as Turkey's possible accession to the European Union. Will Ankara be able to meet all the criteria in the long term? In our dossier, sponsored by the Ernst Reuter Initiative, we take a look at political, societal and cultural relations between Turkey and Europe
Printversion
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