After the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on charges of corruption, Türkiye is witnessing widespread protests on the scale not seen in more than a decade. Officers have detained more than 1,500 people, in which many journalists have covered protests; A BBC reporter has also been deported from the country. The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Saturday led a massive protest on Saturday, three years before the expected program in 2028, took hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets to take the streets on the streets for the initial elections.
President’s attainment Tayip Erdogan has condemned the rallies, labeled him as “Street Terror”. He said, “Those who spread terror on the streets and want to set fire to this country, they do not have to go anywhere. The path they have taken is a dead end,” he said.
Accident after a high
The rebellion has been a demoner when Erdogan is coming when Erdogan was riding on the glory of the achievements of the stellar foreign policy. He had won a major diplomatic victory in Syria, which was a sign of his decade -old position on the country’s civil war. With the out of Bashar al -Assad, Turki’s Proteg, Mohammad Al Shara is included in Damascus. Even in the Ukraine conflict, Turkey cleverly balanced its relationship with both Russia and Ukraine, both benefiting from. And, in the South Caucasus, it has achieved a firm trail by helping to achieve a spectacular victory over the arch-rival Armenia in the Karbakh War. It has played a successful role in the Somali Civil War and is also playing a decisive role in Libya. South and South East Asia has also seen a wide Turkish footprint under Erdogan. Only last month, he concluded a successful three-nation tour in the region, where he signed attractive trade deals with Pakistan and Malaysia, as well as a historic defense deal with Indonesia for joint drone production. And now, US President Donald Trump sees Türkiye filling the difference with its large standing army, threatening the Euro-Alantic alliance. Along with this, through the Islamist orientation of literature, Sufi culture, tele-serials and Erdogan, its soft power has earned the country over the world.
Will Strongman Dhanush do?
Erdogan, who has won five parliamentary and two presidential elections, is a clever politician who has fulfilled the art of existence and turned any adversity into an opportunity for himself and his AK (Justice and Development) Party, or ‘AKP’. This time, however, he can find that it is often easier to achieve success in abroad than home. Although he has been in power in Türkiye for more than 25 years, his grip on the country has become rapidly autocratic and at the same time is tenth for the tenth time. True, Erdogan and his party won the 2023 general elections, but it was with a very slimmer margin. Elections themselves were controversial, their alliance failed to secure 50% points. Their chairmanship was to be decided by the run-off elections, eventually, his victory was married to extensive allegations that fair and free publicity was stopped.
Keeping Turkey in position as the right successor and successor of the Khalifa heritage, President Erdogan took Turkey on a quite different path from the Republic’s founder father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Erdogan’s administration removed the rules of banning women from wearing headscarws in state -run institutions, with the exception of the judiciary, military and police, with the exception of the judiciary, military and police. He (unsuccessful) tried to criminalize adultery, and introduced alcohol -free areas, discouraged family planning, and advocated large families. Educational reforms were introduced, which banned Darwin’s principle from Darwin’s curriculum, including Islamic teachings. In 2020, Hagia Sophia Cathedral was converted into a mosque in Istanbul.
A lesson to learn
But none of it – even Turkish weapons do not export under Erdogan’s clock – translated into economic prosperity for the country. In December 2024, the economy remains dull with inflation of 44.38%, a weak lira, and rising prices. The media has been censored, and hundreds of dissatisfies have disorganized.
The continuous high-extending of administration has only worked to give fuel support for the opposition, whose manifesto has promised to bring Turkey back on the path of secularism, makes it parliamentary democracy, removes with the President’s system, removes relations with NATO, prefer relations with the West, prioritize the economy, fix the economy, and ensure freedom of justice and freedom.
In the local elections held in March last year, CHP emerged as a leading party for the first time in 47 years, winning 35 out of 81 provinces. The results sent shockwaves to Erdogan’s AKP party. In addition, Imamoglu is considered as the most powerful rival of Erdogan, a more popular leader than the presidential candidate Kemal Kilikadaroglu, who was fielded in 2023. Just after his arrest and amidst mass protests, he was stopped from contesting elections for the future.
Will the ongoing protests in Türkiye be successful in forcing the initial elections. But the arrest of Imamoglu, which came a few days before the presidential primary, can prove to be upside down. Here is something that Erdogan should keep in mind: Syrian’s staunch rival, the collapse of Bashar al -Assad, began with a high -handed response to legitimate protests of his administration. A lesson to learn, perhaps.
(The author is a journalist and political analyst)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
