He has been accused of amending the Constitution to retain power. Although he had served as the Prime Minister of his country, he nullified the power associated with the post after becoming the President. Various countries, including the US, started questioning the authoritarian leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. Amidst such a situation, the Turkish President has received a huge blow in the recently-held local elections. The Republican People's Party (CHP), the main Opposition party of Turkey, defeated President Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) by a landslide margin in March 2024!
Erdoğan had served as the Prime Minister from 2003 to 2014. Since 2014, he has been serving as the President of Turkey. In a rare first, Erdoğan and his AKP have received a blow after staying in power for the past two decades as the CHP has taken control of major Turkish cities, including Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Adana and the resort town of Antalya. CHP leader Ekrem İmamoğlu has been elected Mayor of Istanbul for the second time. After 92.92% of ballot boxes were opened in Istanbul, İmamoğlu had 50.92% votes in comparison to 40.05% of votes bagged by his AKP challenger Murat Kurum. In the capital city of Ankara, Opposition Mayor Mansur Yavaş was able to register victory when less than half of the votes were in, as he had already clinched more than 59% of votes at that time.
Immediately after the declaration of election results, thousands of people celebrated the CHP's victory in major cities. Addressing the people, an overjoyed İmamoğlu said: "My dear Istanbulites, you opened the door to a new future today. Starting from tomorrow, Turkey will be a different Turkey. You opened the door to the rise of democracy, equality and freedom… You ignited hope at the ballot box."
Political experts are of the opinion that the CHP's excellent performance in local polls is quite significant as the Opposition party has registered victory in the conservative western region of Turkey. President Erdoğan had campaigned for his party in Anatolia in some phases ahead of the election. He was also seen offering prayers at the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Despite all these, the victory of the CHP has ushered in a new political era in Turkey.
After facing defeat, President Erdoğan held a press conference at the AKP headquarters in Ankara. Addressing the media conference, he stressed: "Regardless of the results, the winner of this election is primarily democracy. Unfortunately, we could not get the result we wanted in local elections… Everything happens for a reason. We will rebuild trust in places where our nation has chosen someone else." The President added: "If we made a mistake, we will fix it. If we have anything missing, we will complete it. I am madly in love with you."
In spite of the President's message, thousands of people took to the streets in order to celebrate the CHP's victory. They claimed that Turkey was a secular country and would remain so. People also demanded Erdoğan's resignation! However, a section of experts believes that the future of Erdoğan's reign should not be determined based on the outcome of local elections. According to experts, the results of local elections cannot help read the mind of the entire nation. As there are no national level elections in Turkey until 2028, President Erdoğan has plenty of time to correct his mistakes.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu is also in trouble, as his countrymen are staging protests against him for not taking necessary steps to free the hostages from the Palestinian Hamas Movement. More than 1,000 Israelis have lost their lives since the Israel-Hamas War began on October 7, 2023, while nearly 100 have been imprisoned by the Palestinian outfit. Protesters have claimed that the Netanyahu Administration has not taken any serious steps to ensure the release of the Israeli abductees, apart from bombarding the Gaza Strip.
More than 1,000 Israelis gathered in front of the Parliament on April 2, 2024. Addressing the protesters, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak called the October 7 (2023) incident a failure of Netanyahu and also demanded fresh elections. According to Barak, the Netanyahu Government failed to prevent the adversary in every way on October 7, in spite of having a sophisticated military system.
The majority of Israelis believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu has become the main obstacle to the prisoner exchange deal. Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker (24) who is still held in Gaza, has stressed that Netanyahu's handling of the hostage's situation had been "incomprehensible and criminal". The Guardian quoted her as saying: "Prime Minister Netanyahu, after you abandoned our families on October 7, and after 176 days when you did not bring a deal (for their return), and because you are continually engaged in torpedoing a deal, we have realised that you are the obstacle to the deal. You are the obstacle. You are the one who stands between us and the return home of our loved ones."
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