Recap Tayyip Erdogan is losing in Istanbul which is jewel in the poitical crown of Turkish politics. Some people in Turkey claim that if you lose Istanbul, your prestige is dented surly. Erdogan founded AKP (Justice and Development Party) in 2001. He is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current President of Turkey since 2014, but now he`s struggling.
People in Turkey want a change and they have a good reason for that. First of all because Turkey is in a recession. The Turkish economy shrank by 2,6 percent YoY in the first quarter of 2019, following a 3 percent contraction in the previous period. It was the second straight quarter of GDP decline.
Erdogan served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2014, but only two years into that era, things was about to change in Turkey. The unemployment rate aveeraged 10,9 percent from 2005 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 14,8 percent in February of 2009 and a record low of 7,3 percent in June of 2012.
People in Turkey aren`t happy with this situation and they speak out loud and clear. They want a new leader. They want a change.
Turkey`s annual inflation rate also fell to 18,71 percent in May 2019 from 19,50 percent in the previous month. High inflation rate near 20 percent with a high unemployment rate is not a good mix, and the cost of living is making it difficult for the people in Turkey.
On top of that, their currency, Lira, have plummeted for years and reached 6,86 in August of 2018. You don`t have to be Einstein to understand the situation for the ordinary people in Turkey right now. All this will have an impact of their trade too.
Turkey`s trade deficit shrank by 55,8 percent to USD 2,98 billion in April this year, from USD 6,71 in the corresponding month of the previous year. Their imports tumbled 15,1 percent and it speaks for itself.
Among trading partners, imports declined primarily from Iran (-37,8 percent), South Korea (-27,8 percent), Germany (-26,5 percent), Italy (-23,6 percent), France (20,3 percent) and China (-18,1 percent) to name a few.
Erdogan`s foreign policy has been described as Neo-Ottoman and has involved attempts to prevent Syrian-kurdish PYD/YPG forces from gaining ground on the Turkish-Syrian border during the Syrian Civil War.
He is coming from an Islamist political background and as a self-described conservative democrat, he has promoted socially conservative and liberal economic policies in his administration.
Islamism can refer to diverse forms of social and political activism advocating that public and political life should be guided by Islamic principles or more specifically to movements which call for full implementation of sharia. It is commonly used interchangably with the terms political islam or islamic fundamentalism.
Turkey is also considered a trasit and temporary asylum area for migrants arriving from countries outside of Europe. Historically, the Ottoman Empire, and the Turkish republic succeeding it, were the primary destination for Muslim refugees from areas conquered, or re-conquered by Christian powers, notably Russia in the Caucasus and Black Sea areas.
Turkey continues to be home to the world`s largest refugee population and close to 4 million refugees came to Turkey by August 2018, according to UNHCR Turkey Factsheet.
Erdogans AK party has governed Istanbul for more than two decades and a loss in Istanbul is very important for the psycological value. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected Mayor of Istanbul in 1994, and Turkeys economy is very important for the election. Istanbul is Turkeys largest city and Turkeys commercial hub.
Opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu says re-run is «A battle for Democracy.» So says the people in Turkey. The dominance of Turkeys AK party is put to the test in Istanbuls re-run of its mayoral election. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “He who wins Istanbul, wins Turkey.”
Erdogan`s critics blame him for the economic recession and the vote is seen as a referendum on his policies.
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