Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Erdogan Calls Early Elections in Turkey
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has decided to hold elections on June 24, which is about a year and a half early. However, conditions favor him right now, the country is moving from a parliamentary to presidential system, and a state of emergency is in place until after the new election day. All of that almost guarantees him a stronger hand on the day after the election than he has now. After 15 years in power, the autocrat of Turkey seems to want more.
In a speech broadcast on live TV, President Erdogan said, "Although its seems there are no serious issues arising as the president and the government are working in harmony, the diseases of the old system can confront us at every step. For our country to make decisions about the future more strongly and apply them, passing to the new governmental system becomes urgent."
Perhaps, the most significant factor is the continued state of emergency, which came into force after the attempted coup in July 2016. It was extended for the seventh time yesterday, and it will be in force during the campaign and on election day. Al Jazeera recently cited an EU report that stated "under the Turkish state of emergency, more than 150,000 people had been taken into custody, 78,000 arrested and over 110,000 civil servants dismissed. Turkish authorities say that some 40,000 have been reinstated in the process." The expanded police powers and the detention of some members of parliament suggest that the playing field is far from level.
Mr. Erdogan, of course, doesn't want a fair fight. He wants to win. That is the hallmark of autocrats who deign to hold elections. To them, elections are not held to bestow legitimacy, as in a real democracy. Instead, elections are rituals to reinforce the power of the autocrat. They are window dressing.
From its founding, the Turkish Republic has been a secular state that has struggled with democratic norms and ideals. However, it appeared to have overcome the instability that put military men in charge at the point of a bayonet. Mr. Erdogan has undone much of what Kemal Ataturk put into motion. The current president dislikes secularism, he is suspicious of genuine democracy, and the westernization of the Turkish body politic that followed the collapse of the Ottoman Empire seems to be at an end.
This is unfortunate to say the least. Turkey was the one Islamic culture that appeared to have reconciled the faith of the prophet with modernity. It is premature to say that the future will disprove that, but the basic conditions of that reconciliation are under attack by the ruling party and its allies.
Not only does that harm the Turkish people, but also it robs other Islamic countries of one possible model that would allow them to develop economically and socially while retaining their Islamic foundations. Iran and the Arab nations as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, have struggled with the tensions of modernity and faith. If they come to the conclusion that modernity is unIslamic, the entire world will suffer for it.
Of course, blaming a future dark age in the Islamic world on this June's election is extreme. Many factors will play a part in shaping these countries. But the loss of the positive Turkish example, which is happening now, is likely to prove a major blow to progress.
© Copyright 2018 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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