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
