TURKEY: Elections & more – 2nd Apr 2024

Merhaba from BA! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 2nd of April twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

The country held its local elections on Sunday the 31st, and guess what? The main opposition, the Republican People's Party, or CHP, took the spotlight! The CHP snagged a whopping thirty-five municipalities across the country, including the big three: İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Meanwhile, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, trailed behind with twenty-four wins.

The CHP scored fourteen of the big cities in these municipalities, leaving the AKP with just twelve. This is the first time in almost fifty years that the CHP has had the majority of the votes in an election, and the first time in over twenty years that the AKP has come second, putting an end to its winning streak.

Other parties like the Nationalist People’s Party, or the New Welfare Party also grabbed a few municipalities each. The most shocking result came from the Good Party. In the presidential elections, it had quite a lot of voter power. However, the local elections showed that it lost most of its voter base. It barely scored one city. Upon these results, the party’s head of economic affairs announced that he was resigning from his position, and advised Meral Akşener, the party leader, to do the same. Akşener’s faulty political strategies and her recent proximity to the ruling party during the local election campaign might have caused the loss of voters. However, she hasn’t made any announcements to address their election loss yet.

On Wednesday the 27th, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the former CHP leader, refuted having any connection to banners featuring his image targeting Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The banners read "No vote for those who stabbed you in the back!" with a picture of Kılıçdaroğlu next to it, referencing Imamoğlu's leadership change within the CHP that led to Kılıçdaroğlu to lose the party leadership. Kılıçdaroğlu dismissed the banners as fake, denying involvement. He clarified that he's refraining from active campaigning to avoid potential voter division. His strategy seems to have worked, as the CHP came victorious in the elections.

As anticipation built up for the election results, the ruling AKP set up large screens outside its İstanbul headquarters, preparing for a potential victory celebration for their candidate, Murat Kurum. However, as early results favored Ekrem İmamoğlu, the party turned off the screens and started uninstalling the platforms they set up there. This left many AKP supporters who gathered around the headquarters to celebrate AKP’s win disheartened, leading many to leave the area.

Meanwhile, President Erdoğan had initially planned to oversee the election from AKP’s İstanbul headquarters and deliver his customary balcony address there. However, in response to the shifting dynamics of the race, he altered his plans and returned to Ankara when he realized there’d be no victory speech for him in İstanbul.

When it comes to elections In the eastern parts of the country, things tend to get a bit heated, and sometimes, it's not just about casting a vote. In some areas, families with strong ties and influence run the show, almost like the Wild West. They have their own unwritten rules, and when their preferred candidates don't win, things can get complicated. There have been cases of armed altercations between supporters of different candidates, leaving many injured, and some dead.

Turkey may not go all out for Halloween or host a MET Gala, but when it comes to elections, Turks sure know how to bring the party! Yep, you heard that right, elections! It's like a nationwide costume party where people get creative with their outfits, dressing up as their favorite characters or in funny costumes to hit the polls. Some even bring their furry friends along for the ride, adding an extra level of excitement to the voting process. With elections taking up so much time and energy, why not turn it into a fun-filled dress-up affair, right? Who says democracy can't be a little bit of fun? Want to check some of this year's election do-ups? Follow the link in the show notes!

Moving on to a different election… The Court of Cassation held over ten rounds of voting to choose a new president, but unfortunately, they couldn't reach a decision because no candidate got enough votes. With 348 members, a candidate needs at least 175 votes to win, but none of them reached that number. The election began on Monday the 25th and held its thirteenth round on Monday the 1st of April. Now they started another round of voting on Tuesday the 2nd . This will likely be the last round, as there are only two candidates left.

Back to the local elections… Gülistan Sönük, representing the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, has won the mayoral race in Batman. Her victory is important for the Kurdish minority in the country. She won the race with a big difference against the radical Islamist Free Cause Party, or HÜDAPAR, a party that openly disregards women.

Throughout the election campaign, the HÜDAPAR candidate, a prominent figure in the city, made alarming islamist and sexist remarks disguised as jokes. He went as far as threatening women and saying, "If we win, we won't care about the color of the burqa you wear," implying that women will have to cover themselves up. In a landslide victory, Sönük got 65% of the votes against HÜDAPAR. This can be considered a strong win for women’s rights.

Some news on international relations… Joe Biden will reportedly host President Erdoğan at the White House on the 9th of May. Even though some informal engagements between the two have taken place since Biden's election, this meeting will mark Erdoğan's first bilateral visit since Biden took office. The meeting comes amid improving relations, notably with Turkey's recent approval of Sweden's NATO membership after a prolonged delay. However, the tension is still there, particularly concerning Turkey's actions in northern Syria and its compliance, or non-compliance, with U.S. sanctions on Russia. Washington sees this meeting as an opportunity to address these issues, urging Erdoğan to prevent the transit of goods to Russia.

In some economic news… Ramazan Kaşlı, a deputy from the Nationalist Movement Party or MHP, an ally of the AKP government, stirred controversy last Monday the 25th, with his remarks advising retired people to take on extra jobs to address financial struggles. He suggested that families seek additional income of around 10,000 liras (or about 300 dollars) through second jobs, citing examples of teachers selling simit, a Turkish bagel, or water after school hours in the nineteen eightees. Kaşlı's comments sparked backlash on social media, with many criticizing his insensitivity.

On Thursday the 28th, the Sözcü news outlet pointed out that since twenty eighteen, Kaşlı's family business has secured fruitful contracts from AKP-governed municipalities, making him millions of liras and living an extremely comfortable life. His advice drew criticism, especially considering that many retirees in Turkey receive pensions below the poverty line, highlighting the hypocrisy of his statements.

And to close this edition, on Thursday the 28th, Habertürk, an online news outlet, reported that Ferhat A., an exam proctor at a Terakki Foundation school in İstanbul’s Levent district, threw a cat from the school's fifth-floor window during an IELTS language exam session. Students taking the exam reported that he threatened students who questioned his actions and wanted to check on the cat, saying they’d be kicked out of the exam and wouldn’t be able to take it again. The cat suffered two broken legs and internal bleeding.

This incident caused quite an outrage on social media, prompting police to launch an investigation and detain him. Animal abuse has emerged as a pressing issue in the country, with incidents rising in recent months.

For instance, a man beat a cat to death and received only a minor fine as punishment. These led to widespread condemnation and calls for justice from animal rights activists, demanding severe punishment for animal cruelty.

And that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

We've got a quick survey that'll help us make these updates even better, and we'd love your input! It'll just take a few minutes, promise. We get it, you might be thinking, “I’m taking a shower” or “I'm behind the wheel!” or “You keep talking about these show notes and I don’t even know what they are.” But please please please check them out.

Hoşça kalın!