Three hundred people submit their resignation from the Turkish Future Party and join the Erdogan’s Justice and Development.

Turkish media reported that 300 people resigned from the Turkish Future Party led by former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the state of Erzurum and joined Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.

Among the resigned members was the Future Party’s Youth Branch President in Erzurum, Muhammet Firat Kirbac.

During an affiliation ceremony, the newly admitted members were handed the badge of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party by parliamentarian Selami AltinokIn.

In a speech during the ceremony, AltinokIn said that “Turkey will continue its rise through unity and solidarity under the umbrella of the Justice and Development Party.”

He stressed that the supporters of the People’s Alliance, which is made up of the Justice and Development Party, as well as other Turkish parties, “will not leave Turkey’s fate to those who take their orders from imperialist countries and terrorist organizations.”

On his part, Kirbac pointed out that the 300 members submitted their resignations after discovering that the Future Party’s leadership supports the Peoples’ Democratic Party, which Turkey considers the political wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

This comes two weeks before Turkish people cast their votes in the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections.

Source: Al Mayadeen

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Turkey’s opposition alliance has vowed to reverse many of President Tayyip Erdogan’s policies if elected in a May 14 election, including a return to a parliamentary democracy and economic orthodoxy, and a major shift in foreign policy.

Last month Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of the six-party Nation Alliance, unveiled the opposition’s programme for its first 100 days in power.

Pledges ranged from a return to daylight saving time, tax and insurance reductions, and a merit-based recruitment system for all public servant employment.

Here are details of the plan:

LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE REFORMS

The main promise is a return to a parliamentary system, which the alliance says will be “stronger” than the one in place before a switch in 2018 to the current presidential system.

It would reinstate the position of prime minister, which was abolished by Erdogan through a referendum in 2017, and make the presidency an “impartial” role with no political responsibility. The president’s right to veto legislation and issue decrees would be abolished.

The president would sever ties to any political party, only serve one seven-year term and afterward be banned from active politics.

The parliament’s authority to back out of international agreements would be enshrined in the constitution. It will also have more authority over planning the government budget.

In public administration, boards and offices under the presidency would be abolished and their duties transferred to relevant ministries.

ECONOMY

The Nation Alliance promised to lower inflation, running at 44% in April, to single digits within two years and restore the stability of the lira, which has lost 80% of its value against the dollar in the past five years.

It would ensure the central bank’s independence and roll back measures such as allowing the cabinet to select its governor.

It would prepare legislation allowing parliament to pass laws on the central bank’s mission, operational independence and high-level appointments.

Policies that interfere with a floating exchange rate would end, including a government scheme that protects lira deposits against currency depreciation.

It pledged to cut government expenditure by reducing the number of planes used by the presidency, the number of vehicles used by civil servants, and selling some state buildings.

All projects under public-private partnerships would be reviewed. It would review the Akkuyu nuclear plant project – owned by Russian state entities – and renegotiate natural gas contracts, reducing the risk of dependence on certain countries for gas imports.

FOREIGN POLICY

It would adopt the slogan of “Peace at Home, Peace in the World” as the cornerstone of Turkey’s foreign policy.

While promising to “work to complete the accession process” for the full membership in the European Union, the alliance has vowed to review Turkey’s 2016 refugee deal with the EU.

It would establish relations with the United States with an understanding of mutual trust, and return Turkey to the F-35 fighter jet programme.

Turkey would maintain relations with Russia “with an understanding that both parties are equal and strengthened by balanced and constructive dialogue.”

LEGAL REFORMS

The six opposition parties pledged to ensure the independence of the judiciary, which critics say Erdogan and his allies use to crack down on dissent, a claim denied by the government.

Judges’ willingness to abide by Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights rulings would be considered when evaluating promotions.

Judges and prosecutors who cause rights violations that lead Turkey to be fined at the two courts would be made to pay the fine. Measures would be taken to ensure courts quickly implement rulings by the two high courts.

The Board of Judges and Prosecutors would be reformed and split into two entities for more accountability and transparency.

The structure and elections processes for higher courts, such as the Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation and Council of State would be reformed.

It would ensure that pre-trial detentions are the exception, a measure that critics say is abused under Erdogan’s rule. It would strengthen freedom of expression and broaden the right to hold demonstrations.

Source: In-Cyprus

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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has little time to bask in his electoral triumph

After claiming victory in Sunday’s presidential election run-off, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said “Turkey was the only winner” as he addressed jubilant supporters. Yet while the veteran president’s loyalists celebrate, millions of other Turks will be hanging their heads in dismay, agonising over what another five years of the strongman’s rule means for their polarised country. They are right to be worried. Even Erdoğan, who has dominated Turkish politics for two decades, must realise that he has no time to bask in his triumph if his nation is to avoid plunging deeper into economic crisis. 

The elections took place against the backdrop of an acute cost of living crisis, with Turkey’s currency trading at record lows and inflation hovering around 44 per cent. The crisis is largely a result of Erdoğan’s pursuit of unorthodox economic policies: he has railed against high interest rate rises while inflation soared and neutered the central bank’s independence. 

Pressure on the state’s diminishing resources will be increased by a string of blatant election giveaways, including changing retirement age regulations and increasing civil servants’ salaries. Its foreign currency and gold reserves tumbled $17bn in the six weeks before the first round of voting on May 14 as Erdoğan sought to prop up the economy and currency ahead of the polls, according to Financial Times calculations of official data. The state is also grappling with a near-record current account deficit. 

Yet Erdoğan’s policies, coupled with his penchant for picking fights with western allies and his drift towards authoritarianism, long ago scared off foreign investors who could provide much needed hard currency. This is not sustainable. The state is running out of resources to defend the lira. 

Erdoğan has to put aside his personal quirks, return to a conventional monetary policy and take serious steps to restore credibility to state institutions. Only then would Ankara have any chance of convincing wary investors to return. But if Erdoğan is true to form, the west can expect another era of unpredictable and testy relations with the Nato member. 

There are also concerns about what Erdoğan’s victory will mean for the country’s democracy. Since first leading his Justice and Development party (AKP) to power 21 years ago, he has consolidated power and centralised decision-making to unprecedented levels, edging ever closer to one-man rule. He has replaced Turkey’s parliamentary democracy with an all-powerful executive presidency since pushing through a constitutional referendum in 2017. Elections take place on an unlevel playing field. The mainstream media has mostly come under the control of the government. Opposition politicians, journalists, academics and businessmen languish in prisons.

The list of those incarcerated includes Selahattin Demirtaş, the leader of the Kurdish-dominated Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP), who has been behind bars since 2016. The spectre of a ban from politics — and possible prison — hangs over Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s mayor and a senior figure in the Republican People’s party (CHP), the main opposition party, after he was convicted in December of insulting electoral officials. 

Many others will be fearful about their civil liberties. During the campaign, Erdoğan, who has courted ultranationalists, repeatedly attacked his opponent, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, for being pro-LGBT rights and for supporting terrorists, a thinly veiled reference to his outreach to Kurdish voters.

The president’s supporters will point to another victory at the ballot box as further evidence of Erdoğan’s enduring popularity. But the fact that he was forced into the run-off after neither he nor Kılıçdaroğlu garnered more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round underlines the political chasm between those who love or loathe the divisive leader. Constitutionally, this should be Erdoğan’s final term. If indeed it is, he would be wise to consider the legacy he intends to leave. But whatever course he charts, Turkey risks heading into worryingly stormy waters.

Source: FT

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