Erdogan hoping to grip power as Turkey votes
Five candidates vow to oust strongman
ANKARA: Turkey held high-stakes presidential and parliamentary elections yesterday in an election that could consolidate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hold on power or curtail his vast political ambitions.
Voters flocked to polling centres to cast ballots in an election that will complete Turkey’s transition to a new executive presidential system, a move approved in a controversial referendum last year.
Mr Erdogan, 64, is seeking re-election for a new five-year term with hugely increased powers under the new system, which he insists will bring prosperity and stability to Turkey, especially after a failed coup attempt in 2016 that has left the country under a state of emergency since then. His ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is hoping to retain its majority in parliament.
Still, Mr Erdogan — who has been in power since 2003 — is facing a more robust and united opposition this time. Opposition candidates have vowed to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy with strong checks and balances and have decried what they calls Mr Erdogan’s “one-man rule’’.
Five candidates were running against Mr Erdogan in the presidential race. Although Mr Erdogan is seen as the front-runner, he needed to secure more than 50% of the vote for an outright win. If that threshold is not reached, a runoff could be held on July 8 between the leading two contenders.
Mr Erdogan’s main challenger is 54-year-old former physics teacher Muharrem Ince, who is backed by the centre-left main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP. Mr Ince has wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging election campaign and his rallies in Turkey’s three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir drew massive numbers.
Also challenging Mr Erdogan is 61-yearold former Interior Minister Meral Aksener. The only female presidential candidate, she broke away from Turkey’s main nationalist party over its support for Mr Erdogan and formed the centre-right, nationalist Good Party.
Selahattin Demirtas, the candidate of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, was forced to run his campaign from prison, where he is being held in pre-trial detention on terrorism-related charges. Mr Demirtas denies any wrongdoing, saying that his imprisonment is politically motivated so that Mr Erdogan’s government can stay in power.
Turkey also sought to elect 600 lawmakers to parliament yesterday — 50 more than in the previous assembly. The constitutional changes have allowed parties to form alliances, paving the way for Mr Ince and Ms Aksener’s parties to join a small Islamist party in the “Nation Alliance’’ against Mr Erdogan.
The pro-Kurdish HDP was left out of the alliance and needs to pass a 10 percent threshold to win seats in parliament. If it does that it could cost Mr Erdogan’s AKP and its nationalist ally in the “People Alliance’’ dozens of seats — leading it to lose its parliamentary majority.
More than 59 million Turkish citizens — including 3 million expatriates — were eligible to vote in yesterday’s elections. Mr Erdogan called the ballots more than a year earlier than scheduled in what analysts say was a pre-emptive move ahead of a possible economic downturn.
The campaign coverage has been lopsided in favour of Mr Erdogan who directly or indirectly controls a majority of Turkey’s media. They are also being held amid fears of possible irregularities. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is monitoring the elections with as many as 350 observers.
Recent changes to electoral laws allow civil servants — people on the government payroll — to now lead ballot box committees and security forces can be called to polling stations. Citing security reasons, authorities have relocated thousands of polling stations in predominantly Kurdish provinces, affecting some 144,000 voters who will be forced to travel further to cast their ballots. Some of them will even has to pass through security checkpoints.
Ballot papers that don’t bare the official stamps will still be considered valid — a measure that led to allegations of fraud in last year’s referendum.
The vote is taking place under a state of emergency declared in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt, which allows the government to curtail freedoms of assembly and press. Opposition lawmakers say Mr Erdogan’s government is using the state of emergency as an opportunity to stifle dissent.