Turkey has been governed unlawfully for years. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who obtained a majority in the government, tries to do as he pleases in the country. He disregards judicial decisions and does not grant any freedom to his people. Even in elections, he always stayed in power through various fraudulent means.
However, he suffered a major defeat in the recent elections. In the local elections held on March 31, 2024, Erdoğan received fewer votes from another party for the first time since 2002 and lost many of the municipalities he held. This means Erdoğan can no longer use the municipal budgets as he wishes. With the municipal rents, Erdoğan has bought ships for his children, made ministers and party friends billionaires, and completely handed over the country to capital groups.
It is evident that a significant portion of the people felt great joy at the outcome of the recent elections. A people who have been thirsty for victories for years and have been subjected to constant oppression, torture, and imprisonment naturally celebrated the election victory.
While the social democrat party CHP dealt a heavy blow to Erdoğan by winning most major cities, the DEM Party maintained its strength in Kurdish provinces and won the municipalities of all cities where trustees were previously appointed.
Erdoğan couldn’t stomach this and through judicial means annulled the mayoralty of the DEM candidate in the city of Van. Despite receiving 55% of the vote, Abdullah Zeydan had his mayoralty taken away and handed over to the candidate of Erdoğan’s party, AKP, who only received 27% of the votes.
However, the people objected to this. Despite the immediate ban on demonstrations by the governorship, people took to the streets to protest. Many parties, including CHP and the Labor Party (EMEP), expressed their objections. In a city in the west, people also protested, and ultimately the Supreme Election Council had to reverse its unjust decision and give the mayoralty to Abdullah Zeydan.
In many parts of the country, AKP and security forces intervened in the elections and handed over the mayoralties to AKP candidates. In many cities, soldiers were mobilized to cast votes, ensuring the victory of AKP candidates. Despite this, Erdoğan, who suffered a significant loss of power, is preparing for new attacks.
Economic problems in the country are worsening. According to ENAK, inflation has exceeded 124%. A retiree can only afford 15 kilos of meat with their pension. Rents have surpassed salaries. Minimum wage earners can no longer afford to educate their children. Erdoğan constantly deceives retirees and workers about wages, while billionaires increase and workers become impoverished.
Erdoğan and the AKP government constantly lie upon lies. In the Palestinian issue, they appear as if they support Palestine and the people of Gaza. However, they continue to expand their trade with Israel. They do not even respond to calls for embargoes.
Due to poverty, the complete disregard of democracy, and the denial of freedom of expression to anyone, the people punished Erdoğan. They did not vote for his party in these local elections.
These elections once again showed that Erdoğan’s hypocritical and deceitful policies have become evident. The British government, which benefits from these policies and only thinks about doing business, must now act according to reality. Britain and the Sunak government need to suspend all relations with the Erdoğan government, which pursues anti-democratic and aggressive policies.
