Another senior Turkish official in charge of inflation data resigns from post

The head of the consumer price department at the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) quit his position in the midst of an ongoing debate about the institution's credibility, according to reporting by Bloomberg. The departure follows two weeks after the head of the price statistics department of the institution left his position citing "health reasons."

Friday June 03 2022 10:47 pm

Duvar English

Mustafa Teke, head of the consumer price department of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), resigned from his post just a few days before the inflation data of May were announced, according to reporting by Bloomberg.

Yelda Ayaz was appointed instead of Teke, sources who did not want their name to be disclosed told Bloomberg. TÜİK declined to comment on the issue.

The departure follows two weeks after Cem Baş, head of the price statistics department of TÜİK, left his position citing "health reasons." Following Baş's resignation, it had been alleged that Baş had no problems with regards to his health and that he was disturbed about increasing political interference in TÜİK.

Opposition parties and critics have accused TÜİK of meddling with inflation and other official data for political reasons. The institute has dismissed the allegations, but researchers have begun alternative inflation calculations.

Turkey's annual inflation rate jumped to a 24-year high of 73.5% in May, according to TÜİK data released on June 3. The independent institution ENAG Inflation Research Group, on the other hand, put the figure at 160.76%.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has drawn criticism for his frequent overhaul of the country's economic team, including replacing three central bank governors in the last three years and changing his finance minister and other top officials. He also changed the chair of TÜİK for a total of five times during this period.

Topics TÜİK resignation turkish statistical institute