LAST MAN STANDING

Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not win the presidential elections in Turkey, the opposition lost it

- IPEK YEZDANI

“IF IT LOOKS LIKE A duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.” An example of abductive reasoning, it means that if something has all the characteristics which suggest the same thing, it is most probably that thing itself, regardless of what it is called or presented as.

Before analysing the possible consequences of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s victory in the presidential elections on May 28, it is important to understand how the Turkish opposition managed to lose the most winnable elections of the last 20 years, despite Turkey being in the middle of a severe economic crisis and with public anger over the government’s response to powerful earthquakes in February that left at least 50,000 people dead. Was the opposition bloc’s candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who has never won a single election against Erdogan, the right candidate?

Kilicdaroglu might be the most honest person on earth, with the most robust democratic values and best intentions for his country, but having good intentions is never enough in politics to win a tight election, especially when almost all state resources are used in favour of the candidate who is in power. This was not a fair election at all, as all state resources were used in Erdogan’s favour, but this cannot be an excuse for the opposition’s loss.

Yes, a sprawling system of influence over the mainstream media and the judiciary and the state largesse helped to maintain the Turkish president’s popularity with the voters. But is it enough to explain the failure of the opposition bloc which consisted of a motley alliance of political parties called the Table of Six? The answer is no.