Turks yesterday voted in dual parliamentary and presidential polls seen as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s toughest election test, with the opposition revitalized and his popularity at risk from growing economic troubles.
Erdogan has overseen historic change in Turkey since his Muslim-rooted ruling Justice and Development Party first came to power in 2002 after decades of secular domination.
However, critics have accused the strongman, 64, of trampling on civil liberties and displaying autocratic behavior.
Photo: AFP
More than 56 million eligible voters for the first time cast ballots simultaneously in the parliamentary and presidential elections, with Erdogan looking for a first round knockout and a legislative majority for his party.
However, both these goals were in doubt in the face of an energetic campaign by his rival from the secular main opposition Republican People’s Party, Muharrem Ince, who has mobilized hundreds of thousands in mega rallies, and a strong opposition alliance in the legislative polls.
“I hope for the best for our nation,” Ince said as he cast his ballot in his native port city of Yalova south of Istanbul, vowing to spend the night at the headquarters of the Supreme Electoral Council in Ankara to ensure a fair count.
Erdogan remained the favorite to hold on to the presidency — even if he needs a second round on July 8 — but the outcome was likely to be much tighter than he expected when calling the snap polls one-and-a-half years ahead of schedule.
The opposition’s performance is all the more troubling for the authorities given how the campaign has been slanted in favor of Erdogan, who has dominated media airtime, analysts have said.
“Even if the odds are on the incumbent’s side, the race is likely to be far tighter than many expected,” said Ilke Toygur, analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute and adjunct professor at University Carlos III in Madrid.
“Ince’s wit, audacity, ability to poke holes through Erdogan’s narrative and connect with Turks beyond the traditional base of his secularist CHP has flustered Erdogan and his team,” Verisk Maplecroft Middle East and North Africa director Anthony Skinner said.
The stakes in the election were particularly high as the new Turkish president would be the first to enjoy enhanced powers under a new constitution agreed in an April last year referendum strongly backed by Erdogan.
He has for the past two years ruled under a state of emergency imposed in the wake of a failed coup in 2016, with tens of thousands arrested in an unprecedented crackdown that cranked up tensions with the West.
Erdogan, whose mastery of political rhetoric is acknowledged even by critics, has won a dozen elections, but is now fighting against the backdrop of increasing economic woes.
Inflation has zoomed well into double digits — with popular concern over sharp rises in staples such as potatoes and onions — while the Turkish lira has lost about 25 percent of its value against the US dollar this year.
“At each election, I come with hope. But this year I have a lot more faith, but we’ll see,” voter Hulya Ozdemiral said as she cast her ballot in Istanbul.
The votes of Turkey’s Kurdish minority were especially crucial in the parliamentary poll.
If the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) wins seats by polling over the 10 percent minimum threshold, the AKP would struggle to keep its overall majority.
However, in a situation labeled as blatant unfairness by activists, the HDP’s presidential candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, has campaigned from a prison cell after his November 2016 arrest on charges of links to outlawed Kurdish militants.
After casting his ballot in his jail in the northwestern city of Edirne, Demirtas wrote on Twitter: “I wish that everyone uses their vote for the sake of the future and democracy of the country.”
The opposition has also decried heavy bias in favor of Erdogan by state media, with news channel TRT Haber not showing a single second of Ince’s giant final Istanbul rally.
Tens of thousands of Turks have responded to calls from the opposition to monitor the polls for a clean election and a delegation of observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was also in place.
Polls were to close at 6pm and initial results were expected early this morning.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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