Big victory in Turkey

August 12, 2014 12:15 am | Updated November 16, 2021 08:52 pm IST

Turkey’s Prime Minister >Recep Tayyip Erdog˘an , already in his third term, has registered a resounding victory, now as the country’s first-ever directly elected President, rendering a run-off redundant. Sunday’s presidential race was a sequel to the 2007 referendum which authorised the election of the head of state by popular ballot, replacing the system of appointment by legislature. Turkey’s turbulent recent years have been marked by a paradoxical course of events. On the one hand, the Opposition has mounted a sustained challenge to the suppression of democratic dissent by the government. These were exemplified among other events by the 2013 Gezi Park protests against the conversion of green spaces into glossy, glass-sealed enclaves in an increasingly globally integrated Turkey. On the other hand, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has had a succession of electoral triumphs at the local and national levels. It is noteworthy that one of the two opponents in Sunday’s contest was a Kurdish candidate, in keeping with Ankara’s recent announcement that it would recognise an independent Kurdish state — a historic shift from the protracted separatist conflict of the past. Further, plebiscites have favoured the amendment of the current Constitution that was conceived by the military following a 1980 coup. Underlying these divergent political responses is a sharp polarisation between the rural, traditional and religious population and the urban, educated and so-called secular citizens. The idea that the legitimate practice of religion is antithetical to secularism is itself questionable.

The recent curbs he placed on civil liberties and his handling of the inquiry into public corruption may have dented Mr. Erdog˘an’s popularity among the country’s elites and the international community. It is, however, clear that sustained economic growth that has brought moderate prosperity to the masses, and single-digit inflation, have contributed substantially to his large support base. While concerns over the country’s democratic deficit may be legitimate, it is worth bearing in mind the fact of Ankara’s participation as a founder-member in the Council of Europe, the premier human rights body. Under this 1949 Treaty, it adheres to the European Convention on Human Rights, with disputes adjudicated by the Strasbourg court. An assessment of the trajectory of popular rule must factor in the preponderance of the military, which has staged four coups in the past few decades. Not very long ago, Turkey was a country under the spell of military dictatorships. Today, by and large the power of the ballot prevails. This reality will have to be recognised in order to create a more secure future for the country.

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