Turkey is on the precipice of change, but it’s hard to predict what will happen, as it teeters on the edge of future democracy.
President Recep Erdogan is heading into a runoff after ruling Turkey for more than two decades.
He’s been a somewhat authoritarian leader of Turkey, although not as radical as other Islamic-government controlled middle eastern nations. But unrest is brewing.
It started with what Turkish citizens feel was Erdogan’s sluggish response to an earthquake that killed 50,000 people this year. And last year, inflation in Turkey spiked to 80%, with the Turkish lira sinking and becoming one of the least valuable currencies in the region.
Social media has drawn a light on Erdogan’s control of the press as well. He’s been known to shut down newspaper and magazine offices in Turkey should they be critical of their ruler.
But the low key Kemal Kilicdaroglu forced Erdogan into a runoff Sunday.
Kilicdaroglu was chairman of Erdogan’s opposition party, and was largely known as an economist, and has consistently called for a more secular Turkey. He gained some serious credibility advocating the release of Turkey’s version of Julian Assange. Enis Berberoglu was a former member of parliament and the opposition party, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for leaking state secrets to a newspaper.
Erdogan ruled Turkey before as prime minister, 10 years before his election to the president’s post. He’s never been forced in a runoff, signaling a sign of hope.
But supporters of Kilicdaroglu were hoping their candidate was going to win outright last night. That didn’t come to pass.
Hope was in the air. Erdogan was facing two additional opponents, but one of them dropped out.
Muharren Ince was expected to get a big chunk of the vote. He was previously in Kilicdaroglu’s opposition party but ran under his own banner this time.
But he dropped out unexpectedly. And it was all because of a sex tape. In Turkey, with Islamic rule, even recording a sexual act can be an illegal. Ince said the tape was a hoax and a deep fake, but he threw in the towel nonetheless.
This allowed for a runoff to happen, but one candidate got 5% of the vote.
That 5% makes a difference as Erdogan got 49% while Kilicdaroglu got 45%.
But the candidate ran to Erdogan’s right, and the Turkish president should get the lionshare of his votes, thus allowing another term with continued light, autocratic rule.
But for a moment, there was hope for Turkish reformers. And maybe there still is.
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