Early Turkish elections underscore AKP weakness

NEWS DESK

"Would early elections save Turkey from its economic crisis?" wrote Lebanese political writer and analyst Huda al-Husseini in an article published in (al-Asharq al-Awsat journal), which said: "The presidential elections were set in Turkey on June 24, and will be held under the emergency law, just like the referendum on increasing the president's powers, which took place in April, this vote raised a lot of controversy about the validity of the electoral process in Turkey".

"Despite his strong rejection of" wrong "speculation - as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeated - several months ago the early elections were reportedly the talk of the city due to the poor economic situation in Turkey, yet the government's push for a vote after 67 days, is amazing and influential.

"The speed reflects the degree of uneasiness about the deterioration in economy, observers speculated that despite Erdogan's insistence that elections will take place on time in 2019, it will change the timing to take advantage of the nationalist feelings fueled by Afrin campaign of Turkish army against Syrian Kurdish forces in North-west of Syria, and to prevent the electoral repercussions of the economic crisis which is getting closer and closer.

"Erdogan's plans were good to move his battles abroad so that he could draw his loyalists to early elections," Huda al-Husseini said, adding that early elections confirmed AKP's weakness in the face of rising economic problems, the rapid decline of Turkish lira (lost half of its value against the dollar) and the moves by major Turkish companies to restructure the debt, warning signs that observers pointed out that the economic crisis overshadowed Erdogan Turkey.

"The elections will take place under the emergency state in force since the failed coup attempt in July 2016, and it could be extended for the 7th time this week," the writer concluded, 90% of them owned pro-government businessmen after the sale of "Dogan Media" Group last March, the latest semi-independent media group, and the recent legal reforms have given the government the power to withhold news and content on internet, some of them concerned about fraud at the ballot box, that according to recent changes in electoral law, government officials now heads the election monitoring bodies instead of observers from all parties."

(H/S)

ANHA