By Syed Arif Hussaini

August 03, 2007

Significance of General Elections in Turkey


The July 22 polls in Turkey that gave the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan a second term in office having won 46.6 percent of the vote and 340 seats in the 550- member parliament hold a special significance for Pakistan too. For Turkey is a close and perennial friend, and the smooth elections reflect the stability and maturity of that nation. No protest has been recorded on grounds of rigging in the elections. Pakistan’s losing politicians have often started allegations of riggings even before the votes were counted.
Above everything else, the election marks a remarkable success of democracy in that country where the army had, like in Pakistan, interfered in the administration of the polity in the name of secularism, progress, national security, and the precepts of Ataturk. With a clear majority of the Justice and Development Party in the parliament, the army dare not now don the mantle of the polity’s superintendent.
What gave the Justice and Development Party the landslide victory is chiefly its success in stabilizing the country’s currency, providing the underpinnings to the economy, flowing with the tide of globalization, buttressing the industrial, agricultural, and business sectors and ensuring that the fruits of the booming economy reach the poor and rural sections of the population too. Similar successes at recent polls of Akhwanul Muslameen, Hamas and of Hizbullah, all condemned by the US as terrorist setups, were largely the result of the work done by them for the welfare of the people. Hearts and minds of the people can hardly be won through the barrel of the gun. Iraq provides the best example.
No doubt, the Musharraf regime in Pakistan has over the past eight years done a lot in stabilizing the country’s economy. But its fruits have hardly filtered down. It has benefited mainly the elite of the society, the upper echelon of the military in particular. The infrastructure, supply of water and power in particular, was miserably neglected. The US aid of over $10 billion in recent years was spent mainly for expanding the armed forces. The neglect of the basic necessities of life would get reflected at the forthcoming polls - if they are held as promised. People’s frustration takes the illiterate and credulous among them to the camp of the extremists. Suicide bombers, non-existent thus far in a largely moderate society, have already become a menace claiming lives almost daily.
The victory of Tayyip Erdogan at the polls manifests the confidence the people have in him, but he too has a rocky road ahead of him. He has to arrange the election of a new President as the tenure of the incumbent has already expired. Matter of fact, he decided to have general elections when the judiciary found the election of his Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul by the parliamentary election college as untenable as the required number of voters were not present. With the majority of the parliament behind him, Erdogan may be able to secure a consensus candidate in consultation with the other parties. He has already started such negotiations.
The second problem he has to attend to is that of the Kurdish claim for a separate state of their own. The Kurds, an ethnic community, inhabit the southeastern area of Turkey and the adjoining territory in Iraq that is rich in oil deposits. They did participate in the July elections and have now a representation in the parliament. They may now revise their demand for separation that has been rejected by both Iraq and Turkey for decades past. Erdogan government’s negotiation skill will be on test now.
The third and perhaps the most significant issue from the viewpoint of the people at large is that of Turkey’s application for membership of the European Union. Turkey’s membership of the EU is opposed mainly by the Holy See as it considers the Union essentially a Christian Club. As far back as August 2004, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Catholic Church’s top theologian had said in an interview to Le Fargo that it would be a mistake to allow Turkey to join the EU, as that country has always been in contrast to Christian Europe. This drew vehement criticism from NY Times and other prominent papers. Germany, France and some other states have been pressing for reforms in Turkey, particularly in respect of human rights, so that it fits in the socio-cultural and economic life of Europe. Several reforms have already been carried out.
Although the AK Party of Premier Erdogan is a conservative party with a tilt towards Islam, it has adopted as its first priority Turkey’s entry into the European Union. Several legal reforms have already been carried out to conform to the requirements of the European Commission. Yet, the French-German axis continues to oppose Turkish membership of the Union. Meanwhile, a radically conservative section of the populace has become vocal in opposing the EU membership. Erdogan will have to work harder to win over not only the Turkey-skeptics in Europe but also Euro-skeptics in Turkey. At the same time, his regime will have to keep working towards the EU-inspired reforms. Although Turkey has moved closer to the EU, it may take years, perhaps decades before membership is admitted by the currently unfavorable France and Germany.
The secular state created by Ataturk some 84 years back gave the Turkish women the first taste of freedom and equality. Interestingly enough, over the past five years of pro-Islam rule of AK Party, more women organizations were established and are in operation than in earlier decades. That reflects the sincerity of the desire of the ruling party to be at par socially with Europe. Today 50% of Turkish professors are women; while 57% of senior managers, who run private industry, banks and museums are also women. And, after the just held election, women will occupy almost half of the seats in the parliament.
A conservative government with Islamic roots has been less distrustful of the West than the secularized Turks aspiring to a Western lifestyle.
Arifhussaini@hotmail.com

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