Turkey has lost 2.5 billion dollars in cash in one month: CHP

ANKARA

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Some $2.5 billion is cash alone has flown out of Turkey in less than a month, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chair Selin Sayek Böke has said, criticizing the government for creating “structural problems” with its draconian state of emergency decrees.

“The net outflow of cash since the beginning of November alone is $2.5 billion,” Böke said on Dec. 7, speaking after her party’s central executive board meeting. 

She also rejected President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s claim that Turkey was being targeted in an economic war by shady outside forces, saying the government’s state of emergency decrees after the failed July 15 coup attempt had created “structural problems” that paved the way for economic strife.

“In the process that started with the extension of the state of emergency, the discussions on presidential system shift, and the deterioration of relations with the EU, the Turkish Lira became one of four currencies that have lost the most value,” Böke said.

“In addition to structural problems, there are political problems in Turkey. With the state of emergency, democracy has been abolished. The law has been destroyed by decree laws ... For the sake of its own political power, the government is engaging in fights with the whole world. Political risks are leading Turkey to break away from the world,” she added.
 

‘Substitutive deputy is not acceptable’

The CHP deputy chair also criticized details of planned constitutional amendments that have started to emerge. The draft is said to include a new regulation on parliamentary representation, replacing permanent MPs with “substitute deputies.”

“A deputy cannot be a substitute. They represent 80 million people. What kind of ‘substitution’ are you talking about?” Böke said.

“In a democracy, we value the vote of the citizen not because they have chosen you, but because they represent democracy. The only forward is to strengthen parliamentary democracy,” she added.