Turkey’s presidential election brought within a month: ‘Erdogan takes precautions for re-election’

This is one of the hot issues of international news in 2023: legislative and presidential elections in Turkey. The stakes are high: Between a severe economic crisis and an attempt to rally the opposition, President Erdogan is gambling his future there, but Europe also has a lot to lose (or gain) in this election.

In fact, all six opposition parties have come together to form a common front and envision a democratization political plan. However, at the time of writing, there is not (yet?) a strong candidate to challenge the all-powerful man who has wielded power in Turkey since 2003 (first as prime minister, then as president). So, can we imagine a Turkey without Erdogan today?

“Erdogan took precautions to be re-elected. He brought the June election to May 14, then tried to oust his main rival, the mayor of Istanbul, and succeeded, Firoz Nahavanti, Emeritus Professor at ULB and an expert on the subject, explains.

It’s December 14: Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, is sentenced to more than two years in prison for “insulting the authorities” and banned from political office for the same period.. “This challenger, who is from the same party as Atatürk, has the same charisma as Erdogan: so he had a real chance of winning. Unless a coalition is planned, it’s not suitable to replace him.”The ULB sociologist continues.

However, it is also true that Erdogan’s economic record is not very happy: Inflation stood at 64.3% in early January. (85% in October), poverty is acute. For Firouzeh Nahavandi, this situation could turn against the incumbent president and cause him to lose a lot of support; It has already caused him a sharp decline in popularity.

“In the last elections, his party lost a lot of votes. AKP lost the cities of Ankara and Istanbul, but Erdogan is not appreciated less. Today, the economic factor is a big issue on the other hand, Emphasizes the expert. The president is trying to compensate by eliminating his rivals and positioning himself as a major player internationally.