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| Muharrem Ince wants to bring democracy back to Turkey |
Politico reports that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s challengers are gaining momentum
ahead of a snap election Sunday — their confidence buoyed by the
energetic campaign of Muharrem Ince, a firebrand politician and former
physics teacher who has become "dictator" Erdoğan’s foremost rival in the race for
Turkey’s presidencyo reports that Turkey’s opposition, long written off as toothless, has rediscovered its bit
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s challengers are gaining momentum
ahead of a snap election Sunday — their confidence buoyed by the
energetic campaign of Muharrem Ince, a firebrand politician and former
physics teacher who has become "dictator" Erdoğan’s foremost rival in the race for
Turkey’s presidency
Ince — the nominee of the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) —
has won popularity with boisterous political rhetoric not unlike
Erdoğan’s own.
On Saturday, while campaigning on Istanbul’s Asian side, he took the
president to task over issues ranging from economic mismanagement to
democratic erosion, taunting Erdoğan for rejecting a televised debate.
“We’ll only talk about the economy,” he shouted as he paced back and
forth on top of a campaign bus in Üsküdar, a largely conservative
neighborhood where Erdoğan owns a house. “Come on television. Aren’t you
a world leader? Why won’t you come?
The crowd packing the shorefront square in the scalding June heat
cheered, but Ince was not finished: “Look, the people of Üsküdar want
you to, Erdoğan. Don’t be afraid, I won’t eat you. Come!” he roared.
Even though the odds, mainly reported by the Erdogan cam, still seem firmly in Erdoğan’s favor on June 24, it will be
the first time Turkey holds simultaneous parliamentary and presidential
elections.
Given there is no ballot box fraud, like there was in the last
Turkish referendum, a new democratic star might be born in Turkey, who
can bring the country back on a normal footing, re; human rights,
including freedom of the press, and economic health, also with a more
than fair chance for Turkey to finally join the European Union.
Opposition candidates hope to force Erdogan into a runoff on July 8 — and
most polls show Erdoğan falling narrowly short of 50 percent in the
first round, suggesting they might stand a chance.
Sunday will also mark the day that Turkey’s constitutional reforms
come into force, endowing the president with vast executive powers as
approved in a controversial 2017 referendum. The opposition candidates
have vowed to roll back the changes and return to parliamentary rule.
If there is a second round, Ince will likely be the one to face off
against Erdoğan — an unexpected turn of events, as the president and his
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had counted on CHP to
nominate its mild-mannered leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Kılıçdaroğlu, however, surprised many by choosing Ince, an outspoken
MP known for criticizing his own party. It was a shrewd choice for CHP:
Unlike most secular politicians, Ince has proven capable of reaching out
to voters beyond the party’s base.
Unlike most secular politicians, Ince has proven capable of reaching out
to voters beyond the party’s base.
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations said of him: “But Ince — he’s not elite, he’s a village kid, he knows how to ride a
tractor. His mother wears a headscarf. So, he cannot be labelled as an
elite hard-line secularist. That makes it difficult for Erdoğan to
attack him,”
Erdoğan is still a force to be reckoned with. But in stark contrast to
previous elections, the president has run a lackluster campaign plagued
by gaffes — from a malfunctioning teleprompter to gifting the opposition
its slogan of tamam (“enough”) when he pledged to step down should voters tell him “enough.”
Ince and his fellow opposition candidate Meral Akşener, the nominee
of the center-right Iyi Party, are increasingly setting the tone of the
campaign. When both Ince and Akşener decided not to appear on TRT state
television, Erdoğan followed suit.
When Ince declared he would
lift the two-year-old state of emergency if elected, Erdoğan — who had
previously insisted that the emergency law was necessary for Turkey’s
security — pledged to do so, too.
And while Erdoğan hopes to win
over voters with a nationalist agenda, blaming Turkey’s economic
problems on Western meddling and emphasizing the threat of terrorism,
the opposition has run a campaign marked by a sense of hope.
Ince,
who has accused Erdoğan of creating a “society of fear,” has
crisscrossed the country promising democracy and rule of law, a stable
economy and greater freedoms. At his rallies, he has charmed voters by
dancing and cycling on stage.
Recent polls suggest Ince may score
between 20 percent and 30 percent of votes in the first round, with
Erdoğan between 45 percent and 48 percent (though a few surveys put him
at above 50 percent). Akşener’s vote share is projected between 9
percent and 15 percent.
Though only a few analysts predict a narrow victory for Erdoğan, a second round would see a closely fought race.
Dilara,
a 19-year-old first-time voter who attended Ince’s event in Üsküdar,
said she sees the CHP candidate as “fresh blood” for the opposition.
“I’ve
never seen Üsküdar like this,” she said. “Things are changing. There’s a
chance — a small chance — he can win in the second round.”
Like
many voters, Dilara counted Turkey’s economic troubles among her chief
concerns. Double-digit inflation, rising unemployment and the plummeting
lira pose major threats to Erdoğan’s plans for reelection, given his
promise of continued growth.
Where the opposition stands a real chance is in the parliamentary
election, where they are threatening the AKP’s majority, thanks to an
unlikely alliance between secularists, Islamists and nationalists.
The Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has been left out of the
alliance, but Ince has gained popularity among Kurdish voters with his
inclusive approach.
Ince has visited HDP’s imprisoned candidate, Selahattin Demirtaş, in
jail — a risky undertaking that exposed him to accusations of
sympathizing with terrorists — and pledged to support Kurdish-language
education.
His overtures are paying off: Last week, a large crowd welcomed him
in the Kurdish city Diyarbakır — a rare feat for a lawmaker from CHP,
the party responsible for Turkey’s historical repression of Kurds
The Kurdish vote may prove crucial. The AKP will only lose its
majority if HDP surpasses the 10 percent threshold to enter parliament.
Opposition parties are also vying for the vote of conservative Kurds,
who have favored AKP and Erdoğan in the past.
“Kurdish voters are key,” said Baris Yarkadas, a CHP MP for Istanbul.
“Whoever the Kurds vote for in the second round will become president.”
With just days remaining before the elections, opposition parties and
their supporters are growing bolder. Saturday’s Üsküdar rally resembled
a festival, with families picnicking on the grass and vendors hawking
cotton candy.
Optimism abounded, as well as a sense of unity. Aside from staunch
CHP supporters, many first-time voters and even supporters of other
parties were in attendance. Some waved HDP and Iyi Party flags.
“It’s a different atmosphere this time,” said Deniz Uludağ, 39, who
was at the rally with her siblings. “I think the government, they’re a
little bit afraid.”
EU-Digest
