Election pressure is troubling

Buse İlkin NATIVE

AKP President Erdoğan addressed his party's parliamentary group. Speaking about the operations against CHP -run municipalities, Erdoğan stated, "We are not involved in any of this process," adding, "The judiciary has opened an investigation into the largest theft ring in the history of the republic." Responding to Özgür Özel's comments and his call for an early election , Erdoğan said, "The election will be held in 2028, Mr. Özgür."

This party is led by an individual appointed after the controversial November 2023 convention. Unable to fill his seat, this individual takes to the podium at every opportunity, shouting, calling, and bellowing in a tavern-like tone. At the next podium, he spouts a barrage of nonsense, completely contradicting everything he's said before. Our people love caricatures. Our nation laughs and enjoys the strange onstage behavior of this individual, whom they are forced to subject themselves to as CHP Chairman, and then goes about their business. It's a kind of free comedy. He doesn't benefit the country, but at least he entertains the public.

The election will be held in 2028

Responding to Özgür Özel's call to "bring the ballot box to power in November," Erdoğan stated that the election would be held on time: "When we look between the lines of the noise they've been making recently, we see the same mindset and leadership once again. We witnessed them stoop so low as to ask Western countries and institutions, 'Why aren't you intervening in Türkiye?' They're seeking power with the support of foreign powers, as they have since 1950. The head of the CHP has been talking about the ballot box for a while now. In this country, aside from the daggers the CHP has plunged into democracy, the ballot box has always been a politician's crowning glory. Since the constitution and election law remain unchanged, the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in 2028, and the local elections in 2029. Politics and the people have no such agenda. We don't know which ballot box or election this person is talking about."

Erdoğan also responded to a call by Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a partner in the People's Alliance, to broadcast Ekrem İmamoğlu's hearings live on TRT. Erdoğan said, "In my opinion, this is a very good decision; it would be beneficial."

Political scientist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Alp Yılmaz spoke to BirGün TV about the government's pressure and CHP leader Özgür Özel's early election campaign. Yılmaz stated: “Turkey is seemingly moving toward building a model based on three individuals: Erdoğan, Bahçeli, and Öcalan. However, this model points to a regime in which democracy, as we know it, shaped by universal values, has been completely eliminated. The aim is to create a Turkey where identities are recognized but democracy itself has been effectively eliminated.”

The government wants to create a CHP that will not lose elections. A structure is being built that recognizes ethnic and religious identities but lacks democratic pluralism. The biggest obstacle to this structure is the CHP, which can win votes from all seven regions of Türkiye and has a response in every segment of the country. Today, the government's true goal is to create a CHP that, through Özgür Özel, is reduced to Ankara and compliant with the regime's elite manipulations. This is Erdoğan's message to Özel. This is an elite order where politics is divorced from the people.

ACTIONS ARE MEANINGFUL

The opposition is certainly dynamic, and actions like street rallies fuel this dynamism. However, it's difficult to say that these actions have been able to stop the government so far. The regime is forced to constantly increase pressure because it's embarking on a path of authoritarianism. In this sense, foreign policy is the regime's comfort zone. The order it seeks to establish in the Middle East and the South Caucasus aligns with the interests of the US and Israel.

The government's greatest fear is the disruption of its comfort zone. The CHP, with the power it wields, is trying to shake this comfort. Creating pressure for midterm elections and transforming economic demands into political moves are crucial in this regard. However, this struggle can no longer be waged through polls and assessments like, "Is it legal or not?" There is effectively no rule of law in Türkiye, and democracy has been reduced to mere procedure. Under these circumstances, even the small actions that irritate this regime daily are meaningful.