loading…
The Turkish people will face disastrous consequences with the victory of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo/Reuters
ISTANBUL – The Turkish election did not have any major surprises when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed to defeat his rivals. The Turkish people will live the same days as before and without much change.
This is all because the majority of Turkish citizens prefer the political stability produced by an authoritarian leader like Erdogan. Leadership that guarantees strong security and defense is what the Turkish people want.
Although, Turkish citizens will still face a series of negative consequences. However, this is of course not new because they have experienced it for the last 20 years. Here are 3 negative consequences for the Turkish people as Erdogan will return to power for the next five years.
1. The people will remain oppressed
Photo/Reuters
The consequence of a leader who shows one man is that the trend of suppressing the people will become commonplace. Erdoğan has done that in the last 20 years. And it will be continued again in the next 5 years.
“For the Turkish people, an extension of Erdogan’s term will mean ‘continuation of today’,” said Galip Dalay, a researcher at London-based think tank Chatham House.
Under Erdogan’s government where he first came to power as Turkey’s prime minister in 2003, the country has retreated toward authoritarianism. Erdogan has consolidated power through constitutional changes, eroding the country’s democratic institutions, including the judiciary and the media. In fact, Erdogan jailed political opponents and critics.
Sweden’s V-Dem Institute says Erdogan’s policies have resulted in Turkey being designated as one of the 10 highest autocratic countries in the world. In 2018, Freedom House downgraded the country’s status from “partially free” to “not free” for Turkey during Erdogan’s rule.
