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John Solomo
Nicosia [Cyprus]May 8 (ABC): The autocratic era in which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled the country’s political life for more than two decades, winning five parliamentary elections and two presidential elections, could end this month Closed as most polls expect CHP leader Kemal Kilidaroglu, dubbed “Turkish Gandhi,” to gain more votes in the May 14 election and possibly win the second round election. The inclusion of two underage candidates means Erdogan and Kilidaroglu are likely to face off again in the May 28 runoff.
The opposition alliance has promised that, if elected, Turkey will return to sound economic policies, restore parliamentary democracy and make serious changes to Erdogan’s current foreign policy.
Many in Turkey and abroad consider the upcoming elections to be the most important in Turkey’s recent history, with far-reaching consequences for the country’s political and economic life, but also for the wider Middle East, as well as Ankara Relations with the West, the United States, the European Union, the NATO alliance and Moscow. The Economist described it on the cover of its latest issue as “the most important election of 2023”, suggesting the profound importance of this presidential election in Turkey.
Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute noted that May’s election would be the most contested in Erdogan’s career, adding: “He faces a unified opposition eager to take advantage of the country’s economic difficulties and government A botched response to a catastrophic earthquake in February.”
Rising inflation and the Turkish government’s slow response to a February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless angered many who voted for Erdogan in the past. Now, these people, and hundreds of thousands of young people who see no prospect of finding a good job, are now willing to give Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the six-party coalition, the chance to beat Erdogan in the polls .
Now, as far as the Middle East is concerned, the first effects of a change in government in Turkey will be felt in Syria. The six-party coalition declared in its election manifesto that if they succeed, they plan to withdraw troops from northwestern Syria and begin negotiations with the Assad regime.
Kilidaroglu has repeatedly announced that Syrian refugees living in Turkey will be repatriated within two years. He also stressed that he sees the Assad regime as a potential partner in the Middle East, so he has a better chance of reaching a deal with Bashar al-Assad than Erdogan, who has launched four military operations in Syria and Support those trying to overthrow the Syrian regime.
Kilicdaroglu’s chief diplomatic adviser, Unal Cevikoz, said last month that Kilicdaroglu’s government would do its best to normalize relations with the international community, the European Union and NATO.
On the NATO front, Turkey under Kilidaroglu is expected to play a more constructive role in dismantling Ankara’s objections to Sweden’s NATO membership. However, the “Gandhi of Turkey” will try to maintain good relations with Russia, although he is expected to try hard to persuade Western Turkey not to help Russia evade sanctions.
It is not clear that Kilicdaroglu, if elected President, will make any move to satisfy US and NATO concerns about the S-400 missile batteries, because this may be seen as giving in to US demands. It would be very dangerous for any Turkish president to ignore the country’s long-standing perception that the United States poses a threat to Turkish security. Of course, if Ankara ends the S-400’s presence on Turkish soil, it will be rewarded with access to the F-35 fighter jets and advanced hardware its own arms industry needs.
On the other hand, in this case, Russia may retaliate by stopping the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, reducing natural gas supplies, banning Russian tourists from visiting or buying properties in Turkey, and imposing restrictions on Turkish agricultural products.
Earlier, Kilidaroglu had strongly criticized Erdogan for sending Turkish soldiers to fight in Libya and was preparing to spill the blood of Turkish soldiers abroad. As such, he may be preparing to stop Ankara’s intervention in African countries’ civil wars and bring its troops back to Turkey. His goal is to be an honest broker in Libya by talking to all parties to the conflict.
The National Coalition (six political parties led by Kilidaroglu) announced that Turkey will re-adopt Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s slogan “Peace at home, peace in the world” as the motto of its foreign policy. cornerstone.
Since last year, Erdogan has been trying to improve Turkey’s relations with some countries and leaders he has sharply criticized in the past, notably Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Israel, and has toned down his rhetoric. However, he failed to achieve great success in this regard, because apparently those leaders were not sure whether he had actually changed his mind, or that the friendship he offered was genuine and not a matter of expediency.
Kilicdaroglu is determined to restore Turkey’s relations with the European Union and, according to media reports, said his government would implement the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgment and release prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas and Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala. Moreover, his government will meet all the benchmarks and reforms required by the EU, even if the EU does not accept Turkey as a member.
Many have expressed doubts that Erdogan will not try to rig the election, or that he will agree to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses it. Last week, 50 lawyers appointed by pro-Kurdish parties to oversee the election were arrested. To prevent foul play by Erdogan, Kilicdaroglu supporters plan to send some 300,000 observers to all 50,000 polling stations, double the number of observers in the 2018 presidential election. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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