Turkey

Turkey’s election board declares Erdogan winner of country’s presidential runoff

The head of Turkey’s election board has declared President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the winner of the country’s historic runoff vote, extending his presidency until 2028. “Based on provisional results, it has been determined that Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been elected president,” Supreme Election Council Chairman Ahmet Yener was quoted as …

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Why the Kurdish vote is decisive in Turkey’s election

Sunday’s election, one of the most heavily contested in Turkey’s modern history, saw President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leading the presidential vote with 49.5 percent against his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu (44.9 percent), as the country heads to a run-off for the first time ever on 28 May. Turkey also held its …

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Turkey: What Would Father Say?

Atatürkism… tried to reinvent Turkey’s identity as a modern state claiming Hittite and Celtic roots, distancing itself from the “decadent Orient” and hoping to regain its proper place in the family of European nations. More importantly, Atatürk introduced the concept of secularism, using the French term laïcité, to end the …

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Why Turkey’s election is being closely followed in Africa

Turkey’s influence in Africa has been growing massively over the past 20 years and whoever wins Sunday’s presidential run-off will have to consider where next to take the relationship. Ever since Recep Tayyip Erdogan took power in Turkey two decades ago, first as prime minister then as president, he has …

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Turkey 2030: How did we get here?

To analyze the crossroads Turkey faces in the 2023 elections, it could prove useful to “look back from the alternative futures” and explore how the possible outcomes might play out. Standing in the future, looking back It’s 2030 and seven years have passed since Turkey’s critical May 2023 elections. Since …

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Turkey Heads Into a Critical Election Runoff

A return to a parliamentary democracy system—the opposition’s most important electoral promise—is highly unlikely if Erdogan remains in power. This would be bad news for Turkey’s Western allies. After a dynamic and unfair campaign, the interim results of Turkey’s dual election send the two main presidential contenders to a second …

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Turkish community urges Germany to launch probe into PKK attack

The Turkish minority in northwestern Germany called on authorities to launch an investigation into an attack on a mosque carried out by PKK terrorist sympathizers. A mosque in the northwestern city of Bad Bentheim was vandalized by supporters of the PKK terrorist group, authorities reported on Monday. The assailants sprayed …

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Turkey’s Elections: Nationalist Identity Politics Wins Out Over Misery

There will be a second round for the presidential vote on May 28, but an opposition victory seems unlikely. Turkey is a country where average schooling is 6.5 years. In other words, the average person is a 7th grade drop-out. Ninety-five percent of Turkish citizens have never travelled abroad.

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Turkish operations eliminate nearly 38,000 terrorists since 2015

Türkiye has eliminated more than 37,800 terrorists in the past eight years, according to National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. “Since July 24, 2015, a total of 37,860 terrorists have been neutralized,” Akar said on Sunday at a conference in Istanbul on the Syrian conflict and the fight against terrorism. Six …

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Turkey Elections: Far-right Sinan Ogan throws support behind Erdogan

It remains unclear how the far-right politician’s endorsement will impact the outcome of the consequential presidential runoff as his electoral partners rejected to toe his line. Turkey’s defeated far-right presidential candidate Sinan Ogan declared his support for incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu on …

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