MURAT YETKİN

Turkish journalists now under new pressure MURAT YETKİN

Turkish journalists now under new pressure

It was good to see writer Mehmet Altan released two days after the June 24 elections, after spending nearly two years in prison, despite being sentenced to life imprisonment due to his alleged involvement in the July 15, 2016 military coup attempt in Turkey. There are still some 146 journalists, writers and media employees in jails, but his release ignited hopes that perhaps the atmosphere could be calmer after the elections, especially also when political activist Celalettin Can was released on the same day.

June 29 2018
Turkey prepares for more roles in NATO MURAT YETKİN

Turkey prepares for more roles in NATO

Amid claims that it no longer has a place in the Western defense alliance, Turkey is preparing for a greater role in the new NATO strategy expected to be approved in the NATO summit in Brussels on July 11-12.

June 28 2018
The new Turkey: Is Erdoğan chained to the nationalist MHP MURAT YETKİN

The new Turkey: Is Erdoğan chained to the nationalist MHP?

As the dust started to settle after the key June 24 elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his main political ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, on June 27. They have been in alliance throughout the constitutional referendum in 2017 and last weekend’s presidential and parliamentary polls. It had not been announced earlier, but outgoing Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım also joined their meeting.

June 27 2018
The new Turkey: Good and bad scenarios MURAT YETKİN

The new Turkey: Good and bad scenarios

There are a number of criteria that political and economic observers will be watching as they try to understand the “new Turkey,” as re-elected President Tayyip Erdoğan likes to call it.

June 26 2018
The new Turkey: Hell, heaven, or what MURAT YETKİN

The new Turkey: Hell, heaven, or what?

The June 24 elections resulted in another win for President Tayyip Erdoğan. He got more than 26 million votes overall, amounting to 52.6 percent of more than 50 million valid votes, thus exceeding the 50 percent threshold to get elected in the first round. It would not have been possible for Erdoğan to get re-elected and also maintain his legislative majority in parliament if his Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) had not allied with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), led by Devlet Bahçeli. The result effectively drags the two parties closer to work together in parliament and perhaps in government, in a (named or unnamed) coalition.

June 25 2018
A snap analysis of Turkey’s snap election MURAT YETKİN

A snap analysis of Turkey’s snap election

Towards midnight on June 24, President Tayyip Erdoğan announced his re-election “according to unofficial” results, amid protests from opposition parties saying that the vote count was not over. At that time Erdoğan’s vote was 52.5 percent with a downward potential, but he was sure about his win as the first president to rule Turkey with the brand new constitution, giving all executive powers to the president. However, he said his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) missed its target of winning a parliamentary majority, which will have to be maintained through the continuation of his alliance with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli.

June 24 2018
Erdoğan’s plans in case he loses parliament MURAT YETKİN

Erdoğan’s plans in case he loses parliament

For the first time in his 16-year tenure, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke about the possibility of a coalition government after the June 24 early elections. During a joint TV and radio show interview on June 20, he said if his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti)-led alliance cannot win 300 seats in the 600-seat Turkish Parliament — the number of seats required to make laws — there “might be a search for a coalition.”

June 21 2018
Erdoğan’s rival İnce: I will win despite media MURAT YETKİN

Erdoğan’s rival İnce: I will win despite media

“There is an extraordinary groundswell going on,” said Muharrem İnce, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who has emerged as an unexpectedly popular rival against the mighty President Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey’s snap elections on June 24.

June 20 2018
Some Turks may vote for HDP not because they like it MURAT YETKİN

Some Turks may vote for HDP not because they like it

One of the key factors in Turkey’s early elections on June 24 is whether the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) will be able to exceed the 10 percent national threshold, which is necessary in order for it to enter parliament as a group. The difference between the HDP getting into parliament or not is estimated to be around 60 seats in the 600-seat parliament, and that difference could determine whether the alliance led by President Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) will be able to secure a majority in the legislative body.

June 19 2018