Posted on 06/22/2018 9:03:57 AM PDT by Texas Fossil
Sunday, voters in Turkey will face a stark choice between two paths. One, embodied by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, entails a further descent into authoritarianism and a deepening of ethnic and sectarian divides. The other, represented by the opposition, offers the potential for national reconciliation, a return to parliamentary democracy and an easing of tensions with the West. The stakes have never been higher.
Opinion polls show a deeply polarized nation, split between the pro-Erdogan camp and an opposition bloc led by pro-secular presidential candidate Muharrem Ince. Not only will the outcome affect the Turkish people. It also will determine whether Turkey — a critical Middle Eastern power and vital member of NATO — continues its drift away from the U.S.-led Western security alliance or resumes its role as a stable and dependable ally.
On Sunday, for the first time, presidential and parliamentary elections will take place simultaneously — overshadowed by the state of emergency that was imposed after the failed July 2016 military coup. Over the past two years, Erdogan’s government has used emergency law to purge and imprison tens of thousands of the president’s critics.
Yet there is a possibility that Erdogan’s conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) will lose its parliamentary majority. If it does, life will suddenly become harder for the ruthless strongman who has ruled over the country for 16 years. If Erdogan fails to win the presidency in a first round of balloting, he will be forced to face his rival — most likely Ince — in a runoff on July 8.
There is only one way Erdogan can avert this messy outcome: ensuring that the country’s largest pro-Kurdish group, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), doesn’t secure the minimum 10 percent.. he may well be tempted to resort to fraud.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
But this is a pipe dream. Only a change in leadership can put Turkey back on the path to democracy — which will necessarily involve a genuine search for a just and lasting peace with the Kurds.
The author's husband is Joseph Pennington, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq. She was born in New York City. I often disagree with her, but she is knowledgeable about Turkey and the Middle East. (I don't know her personally)
It’s not who votes that counts.
It’s who counts the votes........................
They’re still trying to figure out how Erdogen won the last time.
He took lessons from Obama. And stole it.
Not if Erdogan has anything to do with it.
It will be like the Venezuelan, Cuban, Iranian, and other elections run by dictators.....and soon to be US elections...Trump had to overcome probably 10% voter fraud just to start equal on the ballot.....US fast descending into shithole status with corruption in fbi, cia, DOJ, and other swamp denizens...glad I was born and lived when America was at it’s greatest....
That is true. This has been building a while. It may be time when Erdogan gets put in his place again.
Not holding my breath. But remember who is still in charge.
Prayer time.
Prayer Bump!
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