Even more Power for Erdogan: Comments by Hüseyin Çiçek
Dr. Hüseyin Çiçek, political scientist and research associate at the EZIRE, comments on the election victory of the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Vorarlberger Nachrichten.
Similar to the referendum on the introduction of the presidential system, the head of state did not achieve an overwhelming majority, political scientist Hüseyin Çiçek points out. That should not be forgotten. In addition, there were numerous obstacles for the opposition, for example, their candidates were cut quite clearly by the Turkish pro-Erdogan media. Added to this, the socially conservative strategy of the president and his party appears to fully work out. With regard to the presidential system, Çiçek emphasizes that Erdogan has been the most powerful man in Turkey since Atatürk.
The incumbent also found great encouragement among the Turks in Austria. The turnout in Austria was around 51.8 percent, according to preliminary results, almost 72 percent voted for Erdogan, about 62.8 percent for the AKP. Çiçek judges this result carefully. On the one hand, one does not know about the exact participation, on the other hand the votes have not been fully counted. However, there is a clear trend. That probably also has to do with Erdogan´s public attacks against Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, like when Kurz announced mosque closures. “Erdogan and Kurz have almost passed the ball to each other,” Çiçek comments.