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☆ Turkey's opposition party just won the local elections. It could prompt a change in the country's relationship with Russia.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Turkey's President's AK Party lost major local elections in Istanbul and Ankara. AdvertisementThe Turkish party led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suffered big losses in local elections held on Sunday. But an opposition victory in the majority of the largest Turkish cities would have "a dampening effect on President Erdoğan's prestige at home," they wrote. Advertisement"The extent to which President Erdoğan can exercise his personal power at home will be a crucial factor that determines Turkey's international behavior," they added. To be sure, the elections on Sunday were local — Erdoğan already won the presidential election in May, securing another term for five years.

Persons: Turkey's, —, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ekrem Imamoğlu, Erdoğan, Vladimir Putin —, Putin, Marc Pierieni, Francesco Siccardi, Erdoğan's, Russia —, Hakan Akbas, Albright, Erdogan Organizations: Turkey's President's AK Party, Service, CHP, Reuters, AK Party, AFP, NATO, Erdoğan's AK Party, Turkish, Carnegie, West, Sunday, AK, Group, AK Party's Locations: Istanbul, Ankara, Russia, Turkey, Carnegie Europe, Ukraine, Moscow, Europe, —

☆ Erdogan's rival leads in Istanbul in high-stakes Turkey vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu led a challenger from President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party in local elections on Sunday, an initial count showed, in a potential boost for the Turkish opposition's effort to reassert itself as a political force. In another blow to Erdogan, in the nation's second-largest city Ankara, incumbent opposition mayor Mansur Yavas declared victory over his AK Party (AKP) challenger less than three hours after polls closed in the nationwide municipal vote. The nationwide local elections are seen by analysts as a gauge of both Erdogan's support and the opposition's durability. Erdogan, who has led Turkey for more than two decades, campaigned hard for his party to reclaim control of Istanbul from rival Imamoglu, the incumbent mayor and potential future presidential challenger. According to official results based on 41.43% of ballot boxes opened, Imamoglu had 50% support compared with 41.26% for AK Party (AKP) challenger Murat Kurum, a former minister in Erdogan's national government.

Persons: Ekrem Imamoglu, Tayyip Erdogan's, Erdogan, Mansur Yavas, Imamoglu, Murat Kurum Organizations: Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, AK Party, Anadolu Agency, Republican People's Party Locations: Istanbul, Turkish, Ankara, Turkey, Izmir, Bursa, Antalya, Adana

☆ Turkey's local elections — and whoever wins Istanbul — could dictate the future of the country
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

As the sunsets, a ferry boat glides across the waters of the Golden Horn with the Suleymaniye Mosque and the city of Istanbul, Turkey in the background. Vw Pics | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once said that whoever wins Istanbul wins Turkey. This is odd but also shows how important it is to win Istanbul," Tunca said. Major Turkish cities like Istanbul and the capital Ankara will be key races to watch. Istanbul Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu speaks at the 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day celebrations held at the Maltepe Event Area on May 19, 2023 on Istanbul, Turkey.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Imamoglu, Erdogan, People's Party's, Murat Kurum, Arda Tunca, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Tayyip Erdogan, Umit Bektas, Tunca, Kristin Ronzi, RANE, Erdogan's, Ekrem İmamoğlu, Hakan Akgun, Turkey's, Ronzi Organizations: Getty, Istanbul, sympathizing, Development Party, AK Party, Imamoglu, AK, CNBC, European Union, NATO, Reuters, Party, Imamoglu's CHP, Turkey's, CHP Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Arab, Turkish, Ankara, East, North Africa

☆ Turkish Parliament to Debate Sweden's NATO Bid on Tuesday -Sources
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Huseyin HayatseverANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish parliament's general assembly is set to debate Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, three sources from parliament said. But NATO member Turkey raised objections over what it said was the two countries' protection of groups that Ankara deems terrorists. Erdogan sent Sweden's bid to parliament in October, but has also linked its ratification with U.S. approval of sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. After talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he expected Turkey to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid "in coming weeks." The parliament's foreign affairs commission approved the bid last month in the first step of the ratification process.

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Sweden's, Hakan Fidan, Antony Blinken, Christina Fincher Organizations: Turkish, NATO, Finland's, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, European Union, White House, U.S, Congress, Erdogan's AK Party, CHP Locations: Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Ankara, Hungary, United States, Stockholm, Canada, Netherlands

[1/5] A new building for earthquake survivors is under construction in Diyarbakir, Turkey August 26, 2023. With work underway on a fraction of the planned new buildings in the devastated city of Adiyaman, Kaplan fears a long wait together with his disabled wife and other survivors. One senior government official with direct knowledge of the reconstruction plan said the target could be missed, citing insufficient fresh funding to hold new tenders amid rising costs. They both said the effort had taken a blow when fewer companies bid for the reconstruction tenders after a post-election economic policy U-turn in June sent the currency plunging. "Our budget resources have been prepared for this huge, comprehensive project and can be updated when necessary," Erdogan's office said.

Persons: Stringer, Ismet Kaplan, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Kaplan, Bayir, Adiyaman, Turkey's, Mehmet Ozhaseki, Arvid Tuerkner, Mert Arslanalp, Erdogan's, Arslanalp, Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Tahir Tellioglu, Tellioglu, Umit, Ezgi Erkoyun, Nevzat Devranoglu, Jonathan Spicer, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, Coordination Council, European Bank for Reconstruction, Erdogan's AK, Istanbul's Bogazici University, TAG, Construction, Thomson Locations: Diyarbakir, Turkey, Rights ISTANBUL, Adiyaman, Netherlands, Belgium, Syria, Hatay, Malatya, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Ankara

☆ Syrians feel growing pressure from Turkey's anti-migrant political wave
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Burcu Karakas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Adem Maarastawi, a 29-year-old Syrian activist, poses after an interview with Reuters in Istanbul, Turkey September 12, 2023. Hardship caused by Turkey's rampant inflation and anti-migrant rhetoric motivated his decision. DEADLINE TO MOVEAdem Maarastawi, a 29 year-old Syrian activist working in Istanbul, is registered in central Turkey's Kirsehir province. "Anti-migrant rhetoric is likely to rise before the March elections," said Deniz Sert, associate professor of international relations at Ozyegin University. Local government expert Ali Mert Tascier said opposition parties are likely to use anti-migrant rhetoric, with municipalities being the main players in managing migrants.

Persons: Adem Maarastawi, Dilara, scapegoated, Deniz Sert, Ali Mert Tascier, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, Maarastawi, Burcu Karakas, Daren Butler, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Authorities, Ozyegin University . Local, Erdogan's AK Party, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Istanbul ISTANBUL, Syria, Europe, Turkish, Belgium, Sanliurfa, Turkey's Kirsehir

Those export controls, which "were imposed for important reasons," remain in place, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office said in statement. "The Prime Minister discussed Sweden's accession to NATO with our partners in Vilnius, including with President Erdogan," the statement said. Ahead of the NATO summit, Turkey, already seeking assurances over the F-16s in talks with Washington, asked that Canada's export controls also be rolled in to the final discussion, the person familiar with the talks said. At Vilnius, Canada outlined its position to Turkey on rules regarding uses of any exported technologies, and was awaiting a response. This means the talks on export controls are no longer frozen, a move that helped play a role sealing Erdogan's pledge over Sweden, the person said.

Persons: Erdogan, Tayyip Erdogan's greenlight, Justin Trudeau's, Joe Biden, Devlet Bahceli, We've, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer, Steve Scherer, John Irish, Tom Perry, Jamie Freed Organizations: NATO, Atlantic, Organization, Canada, Canadian, Washington, U.S, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Nationalist Movement Party, Erdogan's, Thomson Locations: Turkey, Erdogan, ANKARA, Canada, Ankara, Sweden, Stockholm, Vilnius, Washington, United States, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Finland, Turkish, Ukraine, Turkey's, Helsinki, European, Istanbul, Ottawa

[1/3] Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition alliance, gestures after speaking following early exit poll results for the second round of the presidential election in Ankara, Turkey May 28, 2023. According to some party members, analysts and voters, Kilicdaroglu, the opposition presidential candidate in Sunday's runoff vote, will need to immediately re-focus on maintaining control of Turkey's big cities in the municipal elections. Instead Erdogan, modern Turkey's longest-serving leader, will extend his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade, backed by a majority for his alliance in parliament. Meanwhile the Republican People's Party (CHP), which Kilicdaroglu leads, holds internal discussions this week in Ankara to pick up the pieces. The broader six-party opposition alliance convened after Sunday's election results came in.

☆ Erdogan's election lead leaves Turkey's opposition reeling and an economy on the brink
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Since neither candidate won more than 50% of the vote, however, the election will go to a runoff on May 28. They also reveal that despite Turkey's current economic turmoil, tens of millions of Turks still see Erdogan as their only viable leader. Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate at the AK Party headquarters garden on May 15, 2023 in Ankara, Turkey. Still, Kilicdaroglu's 44.9% of the vote is notable as the highest any opposition candidate ever received, said Orcun Selcuk, an assistant professor of political science at Luther College in Iowa, on Twitter. "The opposition clearly did not meet the expectations but it would be a misjudgment to say that opposition coordination failed.

Erdogan got 49.5% in Sunday's vote and fell just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff in a vote seen as a referendum on his autocratic rule. But many of his supporters, including first-time voter Asim, were gloomy about Kilicdaroglu's chances in the runoff vote. The election is being closely followed in Washington, Europe and across the region, where Erdogan has asserted Turkish power. Opinion polls had shown Erdogan trailing Kilicdaroglu, but Sunday's outcome suggested he and his Islamist-rooted AKP were able to rally conservative voters despite Turkey's economic woes. Kilicdaroglu and his alliance want to restore a parliamentary system of government and scrap the powerful executive presidency introduced by Erdogan.

[1/6] Mehmet Ali Fakioglu arrives by bus from Istanbul to Hatay to vote during Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections, in Hatay, Turkey May 14, 2023. But as he prepared to cast his ballot, he voiced criticism of the state's slow response to the disaster in which more than 50,000 people were killed. We were forgotten, all of us, on that day, the second day even on the third day. Critics and earthquake survivors have accused Erdogan's government of both a slow response and lax enforcement of building rules - failures they said cost lives. He said around 1.5 million people had left the quake zone, only a portion of whom had registered new addresses for the purpose of voting.

☆ Factbox: Turkey elections 2023: what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The powers of the presidency were broadened in 2017 when a referendum narrowly approved switching Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system. By late on Sunday there could be a clear indication of the presidential election result. KEMAL KILICDAROGLUKilicdaroglu is the joint presidential candidate of the six-party main opposition alliance. He is chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), which was established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - the founder of modern Turkey. The HDP's cooperation with the opposition in the 2019 local elections helped defeat the AKP in major cities.

One presidential candidate from a small party, Muharrem Ince, withdrew on Thursday citing a faked "character assassination" carried out online. "We find it unacceptable for another country to interfere in Turkey's election process in favour of a political party. [1/4] FILE PHOTO-Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition alliance, greets his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, in Tekirdag, Turkey April 27, 2023. Kilicdaroglu said a fundamental problem of Turkey's foreign policy in Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) tenure was the exclusion of the foreign ministry from the policy-making process. Turkey, Kilicdaroglu said, will pursue a peace-oriented foreign policy that prioritises its national interest and acts in line with the modern world.

☆ Erdogan calls opposition 'pro-LGBT' at election rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ANKARA, May 7 (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan accused the opposition of being "pro-LGBT" at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday, as he stepped up his rhetoric against his opponents a week before what is expected to be a tight election. Elsewhere, protesters threw stones at Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), during an election rally in the eastern city of Erzurum, a stronghold of Erdogan's AK Party (AKP). On Sunday, he also attacked his key election rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads the main opposition alliance. The opposition has previously denounced claims by Erdogan linking them to terrorists as divisive and dangerous campaign rhetoric. In the 2018 presidential election Erdogan won 72% of votes in Erzurum.

☆ Turkey's Kilicdaroglu exits Erodogan's shadow in election race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Daren Butler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

I know the cost of living and the hopelessness of young people," Kilicdaroglu told a rally last week. Even if he prevails, Kilicdaroglu faces challenges keeping an opposition alliance including nationalists, Islamists, secularists and liberals united. Many wonder whether Kilicdaroglu can defeat Erdogan, the country's longest-serving leader, whose campaigning charisma has helped deliver more than a dozen election victories. HEALING OLD WOUNDSBefore entering politics, Kilicdaroglu worked in the finance ministry and then chaired Turkey's Social Insurance Institution for most of the 1990s. "I have been boycotting the elections since 2018 but I will vote for Kemal Kilicdaroglu this time.

☆ Turkey's Kilicdaroglu exits Erdogan's shadow in election race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Daren Butler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

I know the cost of living and the hopelessness of young people," Kilicdaroglu told a rally last week. Many wonder whether Kilicdaroglu can defeat Erdogan, the country's longest-serving leader, whose campaigning charisma has helped deliver more than a dozen election victories. The opposition has stressed that Erdogan's drive to slash interest rates set off the inflationary crisis that devastated household budgets. HEALING OLD WOUNDSBefore entering politics, Kilicdaroglu worked in the finance ministry and then chaired Turkey's Social Insurance Institution for most of the 1990s. "I have been boycotting the elections since 2018 but I will vote for Kemal Kilicdaroglu this time.

"The fundamental consequence of Ince's (candidacy) is sending the elections to a second round," Panoramatr research director Osman Sert told Reuters. "But even if there is such a meltdown it would not prevent the election going to a second round," Sert said. POLITICAL STABILITYIf no presidential candidate gets more than 50% in the May 14 vote, the top two would compete in a second round two weeks later. Data from closely-watched pollster Metropoll showed Ince and undecided voters would determine the presidential vote, its head Ozer Sencar said. Among voters opposed to Erdogan, some voice dissatisfaction with the diverse main opposition alliance, partly as it includes parties led by former Erdogan allies and an Islamist party.

"It is not clear whether some citizens are alive or dead in the earthquake zone. Erdogan's AK Party has said it is committed to a free and fair election that respects the will of the people. BALLOT BOX SECURITYOpposition parties and non-governmental organisations say the exodus of more than 3 million people from the disaster zone poses extra concerns. While some 300,000 to 500,000 of them were thought to have changed addresses, many of those who had left the disaster zone had not, added Tiryaki. For Yigit, the earthquake and what he sees as the government's slow response to the disaster weighs on him as he decides how to vote.

The HDP, parliament's third-biggest party, wants the opposition to back demands for Kurdish rights and other issues. The Kurdish party held talks with Kilicdaroglu on Monday and is expected to announce this week whether it will back him. HDP lawmaker Imam Tascier said Kilicdaroglu had acknowledged the "Kurdish problem", terms reminiscent of language used by Erdogan in earlier years when he was seeking Kurdish support. Now, he said, Erdogan "pushed freedoms, democracy, human rights and the Kurdish problem away with the back of his hand". Yet, legal challenges could derail the role of HDP, which also won almost 12% of the national vote in 2018.

☆ Erdogan's AKP party signals return to more orthodox economic policies in draft election manifesto -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

ANKARA, March 16 (Reuters) - The draft election manifesto of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party marks a return to more orthodox, free market economic policies, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. According to the sources familiar with the draft, the AK's manifesto for the upcoming election will make no reference to Ankara's more recent economic policies but instead to return to his party's prior, more orthodox approach. "The approach to the economy is very similar to that of the 2002 AK Party election manifesto. He said Erdogan's final approval of the manifesto would be required and so far he had not conveyed any dissenting opinion. If he takes office, a radical change is inevitable in economic policies, the bureaucracy and cabinet members to work in harmony with him," the AKP official said.

☆ Erdogan's party pivots back to orthodox economic policies in draft manifesto -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The polls also show the opposition bloc, called the Nation Alliance, leading the parliamentary race, at least six points ahead of Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) and its allies. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) remains comfortably above 10%. A poll conducted on March 6-7 by Alf Research showed Kilicdaroglu at 55.1% and Erdogan on 44.9%. Piar Research showed Kilicdaroglu winning with 57.1%, with Erdogan lagging on 42.9%. ORC Research showed Kilicdaroglu ahead with 56.8% and Erdogan on 43.2%, according to a poll conducted on March 4-6, before Kilicdaroglu was officially announced as the opposition candidate.

☆ Turks protest over government's quake response in stadiums, on streets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At a separate demonstration in Istanbul, riot police moved swiftly to detain protesters, who were handcuffed and dragged into police buses. Following the Besiktas fans' protest, Bahceli cancelled his membership of the club, his party announced in a statement. Fans from Istanbul team Fenerbahce chanted similar anti-government slogans during Saturday's match against Konyaspor. "Twenty years of lies and cheating, resign," Fenerbahce fans shouted during their 4-0 win over Konyaspor. Dozens of members and supporters of the far-left opposition party Workers' Party of Turkey were detained in central Istanbul on Sunday at an anti-government protest, the party said.

☆ Erdogan says courts will fix any mistakes after Istanbul mayor's sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that the courts would correct any mistakes in an appeal process after the jailing of Istanbul's opposition mayor, and in the meantime Turks had no right to ignore legal rulings. "There's still no final court decision yet. The case will go to the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation," Erdogan said. "There have been many court rulings that we have harshly criticised ourselves, but that doesn't give anyone the right to insult judges or to ignore court rulings," Erdogan told a rally at Mardin in Turkey's southeast. Reporting by Azra Ceylan; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by John Stonestreet and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkish court sentences Erdogan rival to jail with political ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ali Kucukgocmen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A six-party opposition alliance has yet to agree their presidential candidate, and Imamoglu has been mooted as a possible leading challenger to run against Erdogan. 'VERY SAD DAY'[1/5] Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and his wife Dilek sit at his office as a Turkish court sentenced Imamoglu, a popular rival of President Tayyip Erdogan, to more than two years in prison and imposed a political ban for insulting public officials, in Istanbul, Turkey, December 14, 2022. A jail sentence or political ban on Imamoglu would need to be upheld in appeals courts, potentially extending an outcome to the case beyond the elections date. "The ruling will be final only after the higher court decides whether to uphold the ruling or not. Under these circumstances, it would be wrong to say that the political ban is in place," Timucin Koprulu, professor of criminal law at Atilim University in Ankara, told Reuters after the ruling.

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