'Istanbul Convention debate, social media law point to early elections'

Nergis Demirkaya / DUVAR

Erdoğan rules out early elections, says 'everyone should wait for 2023'

Recent debates over Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and the introduction of legislation that seeks to regulate and control social media is an indication that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is preparing for early elections, said opposition right-wing Good Party leader Meral Akşener in an interview with Duvar. 

“Looking at how Erdoğan addresses certain subjects including Hagia Sophia, the Istanbul Convention and social media in [his speeches] at the opening ceremonies he attends, I interpret it as the preparation of a foundation for an [early] election. When we take the economy into consideration, during the meetings that we have with economists, it is said that a wave resembling a tsunami is coming,” Akşener said.

The top items on the agenda on Turkey today are the recent controversial conversion of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque, the introduction of social media legislation amid Erdoğan lashing out at social media platforms, and pressure from conservative/Islamist circles to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, which seeks to prevent domestic violence against women. 45 countries and the EU have signed the convention, and the first signatories were Turkey and the AKP, recalled Akşener. 

“My observation is that the polarizing politics that Erdoğan has employed up until the present has collapsed, particularly following the March 31 [2019] elections. Certain steps need to be taken for Erdoğan to be elected. Of course, habits cannot be abandoned, and there is the strategy of using polarization to get votes,” Akşener said. 

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The proposition of Turkey abandoning the Istanbul Convention has become increasingly controversial this week following news of the brutal murder of 27-year-old Pınar Gültekin, who was killed by an ex-boyfriend. After Gültekin was reported missing for several days, her body was found burnt and stuffed inside a barrel in the forest in the province of Muğla. 

News of the gristly murder prompted widespread outrage and led to thousands of women staging demonstrations in various cities. One of these protests in the city of Izmir was fiercely suppressed by the police, which Akşener condemned. 

Though championed by Erdoğan as a major victory, Akşener claims that the president is disappointed with the reaction of the public to the recent changing of Hagia Sophia's status back to a mosque after holding the status of museum for decades since the establishment of the Turkish republic. The issue has been important for Islamist and right-wing groups for decades.  

“This is because the youngest group that holds political attachment toward Hagia Sophia is our age group. I was born in 1956. During a period when young people are grappling with completely different problems, Erdoğan saw that it is not possible for Hagia Sophia to emerge as a polarization tool,” Akşener said. 

“The biggest problem for young people is finding work. The priorities have changed in Turkey. Erdoğan may want to actualize his childhood dreams, but Erdoğan's boss is the vote and getting votes.”