Justice and Development Party returns to Power in Turkey
-DR. ABDUL RUFF
As widely expected, Turkey’s pro-Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a convincing third term in office on12 June to consolidate its power after nearly a decade of rule, to further the cause of an Islamic society. However, AKP has failed to amass the two-thirds of parliamentary seats by a meager 4 seats he needed in order to be able to re-write the constitution without submitting it to the public for approval.The apparent margin of victory – 326 out of 551 seats – is enough to maintain one-party government, less than the 330 needed to send a new constitution to a referendum.
Facing weak opposition, Erdogan had been expected to win. It had been feared that if he could reach the two-thirds mark, the new constitution would feature a powerful presidency and that Erdogan himself would seek that position in subsequent elections. Opponents also suggested that Erdogan would try to instill religious values in the secular Islamic state. The party will now have to work to forge consensus with its opposition. The main opposition group, the Republican People’s Party, won nearly 26 percent, and another opposition party, the Nationalist Action Party, had 13 percent.
The AKP first won a parliamentary majority in 2002. The last elections, in 2007, were in effect a referendum on the power of the army. The generals threatened to take over if the very Muslim Abdullah Gul became president. Prime Minister Erdogan held the 2007 election, calling the army's bluff. For many younger voters, their biggest concerns were violations of civilian liberties. Opposition fought the poll on deficits in civil liberties and improved their over all tally.
Erdogan acknowledged the need to work for a consensus if constitutional reforms were to be realized, a priority shared by the country’s political parties and civil organizations. He said the constitution will be established upon brotherhood, support, sharing, unity and togetherness. The current Constitution was prepared after a military coup in the 1980s.
The AK Party simply wants to protect some of the country's cherished qualities from some of the extremes of Westernization. Of course, Prime Minister Erdogan is a closet Islamist, with unrevealed intentions to ban alcohol and make women cover their heads. And there are new rules banning alcohol from sports advertising and from events for young people. The alcohol regulatory board says this is not ideology, but is to protect people. And
Military unsuccessfully tried to impose western culture in Turkish society.
Those who visited
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Once known as the
The country is a member of NATO as well as a candidate for membership of the EU. Under Erdogan’s stewardship, the government restored political and economic stability after years of turmoil. AKP government brought the country strong economic growth of 8.9 percent, though unemployment remains stubbornly high at nearly 12 percent and income distribution remains uneven. Alcohol use is successfully controlled by the government agencies. The government oversaw a controversial trial of a group accused of plotting a military coup against the ruling party in 2003, tarnishing the military’s image and effectively eliminating it from politics. Erdogan government made successful efforts in challenging the status quo of the powerful military, which has staged three coups and until recently maintained a virtually untouchable place in Turkish politics.
The AKP, which has Islamist roots, has presided over strong economic growth and a more assertive foreign policy since taking power in 2003. It has also seen unemployment fall - down to 11.5% in March from 14.4% in the same period last year. Erdogan's greatest achievement has been to stabilize the Turkish economy. Up to a decade ago, the country lurched from one crisis to another, with sky-high inflation and interest rates and a feeble currency. In 2002, per capita income was $3,500 (£2,100) - in 2010 it's $10,000. Today
Many European nations play the known anti-Islamic gimmicks with
How can these European lunatics controlling EU deny an European power
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The critical issue for the AKP government is to undertake steps to further advance the chief goal of new
Turkish voters have given Erdogan’s AKP an impressive mandate. Erdogan's Islamist party had widely been expected to win despite being accused by some of an authoritarian style of leadership. AKP victory is a powerful endorsement of the blend of economic liberalism and religious conservatism offered by Erdogan. With this win, he is now the most powerful political figure in
Two issues dominate the challenges of the new government. First in order is the new constitution and the second - admission to EU. However, execution of both does not depend entirely on the new government or the ruing party. The new constitution depends on the support of the opposition and EU entry is entirely the job of the EU members especially those who oppose
There is also a strong vote for Kurdish candidates in the south-east, which will put pressure on Erdogan to make a more convincing effort to resolve the long-running conflict between the state and the large Kurdish minority. The government's goal is to end a separatist conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people in 27 years but for now there is no end in sight to the violence. The strong showing by Kurdish independent candidates – 35 appear to have won seats – will give them a potent voice in parliament and pile pressure on Erdogan to address their grievances.
The AKP has focused much on creating a new constitution in order to complete and advance the reform process in
As part of nation’s rebuilding, Erdogan will win over opposition members of parliament given accusations that the reform will enable Erdogan to consolidate his power as it is an open secret that he favors moving Turkeyto a more presidential system of government. Victory in the general election has given
Erdogan is a polarizing figure who, in his second term, has lost the support of many Turkish liberals and intellectuals who once saw him as a democratic pioneer, pushing back the militaristic state that ruled the country for most of the 20th Century. On an international stage, the prime minister often cuts an awkward, slightly defensive figure, tall, but stiff and unsmiling. On his home turf Erdogan comes popularly alive, responding with jokes, sarcasm and even poetry to the crowds of supporters who pack his rallies. He has the combative charisma that Turks of the teeming cities or small Anatolian towns love. He is a towering politician who has come to dominate his country at a time of transition, in much the same way that Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl and Mikhail Gorbachev did theirs. Diplomacy and humanism in one personality that is Erdogan.
The giant figure of Tayyip Erdogan looks firmly towards the future, with the year 2023 in large letters beside it. That is when this country will celebrate its centenary. Hopefully, Erdogan will inform the world about the new heights of Islamic achievements in
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د. عبد راÙ
Dr. Abdul Ruff, Specialist on State Terrorism; Chancellor-Founder of Centor for International Affairs(
