Turkey is skidding, main opposition CHP leader says

ANKARA

The Turkish Lira’s loss of value is a result of wrong political decisions made by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, stating that the economic problems Turkey currently faces are “not only economic but also political.”

“If the Turkish Lira is now only a piece of paper against foreign currency, its reason is the one-man regime,” Kılıçdaroğlu posted on his official Twitter account on Aug. 9.

“The crisis Turkey is experiencing today is not only an economic crisis. We have to make the diagnosis right. This crisis is a political crisis. That is why we are saying Turkey has not been ruled, it is skidding,” he added, criticizing the ruling AKP’s economy policy decisions.

He voiced the main opposition’s concern over the independence of the Central Bank, stating that in their 16 years of rule, the AKP has made the economy dependent.

“We have said do not give up on the state of law and democracy. We have said a one-man regime will drag Turkey into a disaster. Because democracy is also a way to make common wisdom rule,” he said, referring the current executive presidential system as a “one-man regime.”

He accused President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of “intervening in the Central Bank’s decisions” and “paving the way for those without foreign exchange earnings to go into debt on foreign currencies.”

He also criticized the ruling AKP’s construction policies, stating Erdoğan “gave pro-government contractors a Treasury guarantee over foreign currencies.”