With five weeks to go until municipal polls in Istanbul, the two main contenders, Binali Yıldırım of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Ekrem İmamoğlu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), have been stepping up their campaigns in the past week.
There are two important snapshots from the latest Reform Action Group (REG) meeting - which normally convenes the justice, foreign, interior and finance ministers as well as high-level bureaucrats - held by Turkey.
This column on Monday had suggested that the Supreme Election Council’s (YSK) decision on the Istanbul polls would constitute yet another litmus test for the ailing Turkish democracy. It’s unfortunate to witness that Turkey has failed this test at the hands of the YSK, whose rule has created a major legal and political controversy.
The Supreme Election Council (YSK) is expected to announce its final verdict on the Istanbul municipal elections this week, most probably today or tomorrow.
Last week has observed important talks between senior Turkish and American officials on a number of contested issues, including Turkey’s plans to procure Russian S-400 air defense systems and joint efforts to set up a safe zone along the Turkish-Syrian border.
A much-anticipated phone conversation between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and United States President Donald Trump took place late afternoon on April 29.
In an increasingly unstable Middle East, any relationship based on mutual interest and good neighborhood is valuable and significant for the regional actors. Turkey’s deepening ties with its southern neighbor, Iraq, rightly corresponds to this very reality.
It was Jan 14 when United States President Donald Trump tweeted his suggestion to set up a 20-mile (32-kilometer) safe zone in northeastern Syria in order to address Turkey’s security concerns stemming from the presence of the PYD/YPG along the Turkish-Syrian border.
There are currently three top processes dominating Turkey’s internal political agenda. The first is the worrisome assault against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The second is the Supreme Election Board’s (YSK) inquiry on the government’s appeal for the renewal of the Istanbul polls. The third is how the political landscape will be shaped in the aftermath of the local elections, particularly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested the formation of “the Alliance of Turkey,” an idea his main political ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, slammed publicly.
