The Supreme Election Council (YSK) is expected to announce its final verdict on the Istanbul municipal elections this week, most probably today or tomorrow.
Last week has observed important talks between senior Turkish and American officials on a number of contested issues, including Turkey’s plans to procure Russian S-400 air defense systems and joint efforts to set up a safe zone along the Turkish-Syrian border.
A much-anticipated phone conversation between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and United States President Donald Trump took place late afternoon on April 29.
In an increasingly unstable Middle East, any relationship based on mutual interest and good neighborhood is valuable and significant for the regional actors. Turkey’s deepening ties with its southern neighbor, Iraq, rightly corresponds to this very reality.
It was Jan 14 when United States President Donald Trump tweeted his suggestion to set up a 20-mile (32-kilometer) safe zone in northeastern Syria in order to address Turkey’s security concerns stemming from the presence of the PYD/YPG along the Turkish-Syrian border.
There are currently three top processes dominating Turkey’s internal political agenda. The first is the worrisome assault against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The second is the Supreme Election Board’s (YSK) inquiry on the government’s appeal for the renewal of the Istanbul polls. The third is how the political landscape will be shaped in the aftermath of the local elections, particularly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested the formation of “the Alliance of Turkey,” an idea his main political ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, slammed publicly.
It is very unfortunate and worrying for Turkey and Turkish politics to observe a mass physical attack against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), in Çubuk district of Ankara during the funeral of a soldier who was martyred by the PKK on April 19.
In Turkish politics, it is very rare to see President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his main political rival, Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, on the same page. But it happened, on April 18, as both men expressed their post-election assessments and expectations.
Although two weeks have passed since local elections in Turkey, it’s hard to predict when the final results will be announced over who will run Istanbul, Turkey’s largest metropole with 16 million residents.
