Archive for the ‘Erdogan’ Category

Turkey’s economy is spiraling as Erdogan’s AKP requests …

It's "a source of pressure on the currency as it raises the risk that the government continues to be distracted by the elections" at a time when Ankara should be providing "more details around the fiscal program, plans to boost net (foreign exchange) reserves, transparency around the recap of the banking sector and inflation numbers needed to stabilize sentiment around Turkey," she told CNBC on Wednesday.

Erdogan has espoused keeping interest rates down despite rising inflation, currently at more than 19 percent. Investors fear he will continue to pursue populist monetary policy after his party's unprecedented defeat in the local elections.

But more than the election results themselves, it is the substance of an economic reform package that is needed to calm markets, experts say. That effort has so far not gone well.

Of note, an investor discussion with Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak during the IMF Spring Meetings in Washington DC last week received decidedly negative reviews.

Investors described Turkish officials as unprepared and lacking details, and a J.P. Morgan survey carried out during the event revealed that more than 80% of investors did not have confidence in Ankara's ability to turn things around.

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Turkey's economy is spiraling as Erdogan's AKP requests ...

Thwarted in Istanbul Election Recount, Erdogans Party …

ISTANBUL The party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey applied to the countrys election commission on Tuesday for a rerun of the Istanbul mayors race, after two weeks of appeals and recounting of ballots still showed the opposition candidate ahead.

The application for a rerun is seen as a last-ditch attempt by the governing party to avoid losing control of Istanbul, Turkeys largest city and financial center. A defeat in Istanbul would deal a significant blow to Mr. Erdogan, who has been in power for 18 years. Party officials on Tuesday delivered three cases of documents in support of their application.

The 15 million residents of Istanbul have been awaiting a result in the closely run mayoral race between a former prime minister and close ally of Mr. Erdogan, Binali Yildirim, and the opposition Republican Peoples Partys candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu.

Mr. Imamoglu remained in the lead by about 13,000 votes with the recounting and inspection of invalid ballots down to a final district in the opposition-held suburb of Maltepe, in eastern Istanbul. The count in Maltepe is expected to be completed on Tuesday or Wednesday, and barring any further developments, Mr. Imamoglu looked likely to be confirmed as the new mayor.

But the appeal by Mr. Erdogans party, Justice and Development, may forestall that. After submitting the application for a do over, Ali Ihsan Yavuz, the partys deputy leader, told reporters outside the headquarters of the High Election Council in the capital, Ankara, that 85 percent of the mistakes detected in the voting were against his party. He added that the irregularities included 16,000 votes for Justice and Development having been erroneously recorded for other parties.

There is complete organized irregularity and complete election corruption, he said. It shows us the will of the nation was snatched away.

Officials from Mr. Erdogans party, Justice and Development, have been saying for several days that as a final resort they would lodge an extraordinary application for a rerun of the race because of what they called numerous and grave irregularities. A decision from the election council could come within days, and a new vote would be held on June 2 if the governing partys application were accepted, officials have said.

Eleven judges sit on the board of the High Election Council, elected by judges of the Supreme Court and the State Council. The judiciary in Turkey has come under increasing government control in recent years as hundreds of judges, prosecutors and lawyers have been imprisoned or purged from their jobs since a failed coup.

At a news briefing on Monday, Mr. Yildirim said he would support a rerun. He compared the vote to rotten meat and said there existed serious irregularities, serious corruption, and serious findings that mar the election.

His opponent, Mr. Imamoglu, said at a news briefing of his own that there were no grounds to support the application for a fresh vote. To declare the election void was to disrespect the law, he said, adding, The invalid ballots are counted, and it is over.

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Thwarted in Istanbul Election Recount, Erdogans Party ...

Erdogan accuses US, Europe of ‘meddling’ after Turkey vote

Ankara (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused the US and Europe of "meddling" in Turkey's affairs after statements from Western allies following his ruling party's challenge to local election results.

Erdogan and his AKP suffered an upset in Sunday's ballot when results showed the party lost the capital Ankara and was narrowly defeated in Istanbul, the country's largest city and economic hub.

While the United States has called on Turkey to accept the results, the European Union urged Ankara to allow elected officials to "exercise their mandate freely".

But Erdogan rejected the remarks and told the US and Europe to "know your place".

"America and Europe are... meddling in Turkey's internal affairs," Erdogan said in his first direct remarks to journalists since Monday.

"Turkey gave a democracy lesson to the whole world," he added.

US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said "free and fair elections are essential for any democracy, and this means acceptance of legitimate election results are essential" during a briefing on Tuesday.

EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic on Monday said Brussels expected elected local representatives to be able "to exercise their mandate freely and in line with the principles of the Council of Europe (rights group) to which Turkey is of course party."

Andrew Dawson, head of a delegation from the Council of Europe in Turkey to observe the vote, said on Monday his team was "not fully convinced that Turkey currently has the free and fair electoral environment which is necessary for genuinely democratic elections in line with European values and principles."

- 'Over by weekend' -

The two rival Istanbul candidates both declared victory soon after the vote when initial results showed them in a dead heat. The AKP appealed after electoral authorities later said the opposition's Ekrem Imamoglu had taken a very slim lead.

The Turkish head of state hit out at American and European criticism over his party's push for appeals.

"In your own countries, you have launched appeals."

Erdogan fought hard before the vote, holding rallies across Turkey where he described the election of mayors and district councils as a battle for the nation's survival.

But voters, concerned with the rising cost of living, double-digit inflation and unemployment, opted for the opposition in the country's two biggest cities.

CHP opposition candidate Imamoglu told Fox Haber broadcaster earlier the difference between himself and the AKP's candidate, Binali Yildirim, was now 18,742 votes.

He said nearly 120,000 previously annulled votes had been recounted in 17 Istanbul districts, with 2,184 extra votes being allowed for Yildirim, and 785 for himself.

Imamoglu estimated the final difference could finish between 18,000 to 20,000 once counting ended, probably by Sunday. Nearly 200,000 more votes still need to be recounted, he said.

"It should be over by the end of the weekend," he told the station.

The AKP has said the recount will show its candidate won.

The Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), meanwhile, said none of its appeals for recounts had been accepted by election boards, even when candidates had won by only a few votes.

The HDP supported the CHP -- to protest the government's "harsh policies" in Kurdish-majority cities -- by not fielding its own candidates and splitting the anti-Erdogan vote in western Turkey.

It said it had challenged the rulings and would "appeal to the Supreme Elections Board if provincial boards, too, reject our appeals".

- Ankara recount -

Election authorities are providing ongoing recount details to observers from both parties to ensure transparency. Political parties have until April 10 to challenge the results.

A defeat in Istanbul would be especially sensitive for Erdogan who made his political career as mayor of the city. The AKP or its predecessors had held both cities since 1994.

Opposition candidate Mansur Yavas of the CHP beat the AKP's Mehmet Ozhaseki in Ankara, according to preliminary results.

AKP officials have said they believe there was a huge discrepancy in both cities between ballots cast at polling stations and the actual data sent to election authorities.

Erdogan on Friday said his party won 24 out of 39 districts of Istanbul, but said: "The final decision will be taken by the Supreme Election Board."

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Erdogan accuses US, Europe of 'meddling' after Turkey vote

Erdogans Opponents Promise Scrutiny of Istanbuls Books …

ISTANBUL Even before the important election of Istanbuls mayor has been settled, the opposition candidate, who claims to have won, is challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by pressing ahead with his promise to have an independent audit of the citys books.

Mr. Erdogan and his party have been in control of the city since 2002, and analysts and opponents say they have warped the economy through kickbacks and crony schemes. There has not, however, been real proof of this.

Now, Mr. Erdogans party is demanding a recount of the vote. The opposition candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu, says this is a delaying tactic. And, at a news briefing on Wednesday, he said the party was trying to erase town hall records from computers before he takes over and brings in independent auditors to examine the citys books.

His promise of an audit dramatically raises the stakes for Mr. Erdogan, who was confronted with a stunning electoral defeat Sunday night, when his Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was shown to be losing the contests for mayor in both Ankara and Istanbul.

At the Wednesday news briefing, Mr. Imamoglu said he had evidence that the Istanbul municipality had applied to a technical company for help in deleting data from its computers. In comments on Tuesday he had appealed to city workers to do the correct thing and not destroy government property.

There are many issues, he said. When the day comes, once authorized, we will go there and we will start sharing them with the public.

Mr. Imamoglu said he wanted the audit to examine not only the municipalitys budget, but also private companies that serve as subsidiaries and partners to the municipality.

This is the soft belly of AKP, Bahadir Ozgur, a business columnist, wrote Tuesday in the online newspaper Gazete Duvar.

The AKP-style municipal work would end, he added, when independent auditors entered the town hall and name by name expose how much money was transferred to whom; whose relative, brother, uncle won which bid.

Mr. Erdogans party has yet to cede to the opposition, and the High Election Council has yet to certify the results of Sundays election. Opposition officials have said the legal process could take a week or more.

Mr. Imamoglu demanded a swift declaration of the results. We want justice, he said on Wednesday. "We want our election certificate.

He accused the AKP of playing for time and suggested the delaying tactics were partly to clean traces of their misdeeds. He promised new rules of transparency and international standards of accounting when he took over.

This process here absolutely requires transparency, he told a news briefing on Monday. If you are going to govern Istanbul, which is a city of 16 million, you have to develop an exemplary model, and this is what I am aiming for.

Mr. Imamoglus opponent, former Prime Minister Binali Yidlirim, accused him Wednesday evening of trying to gain support abroad by stirring controversy. You do not have the right to tamper with the nerves of the nation, he said.

Mr. Erdogan had surprised many with the ferocity of his campaign in the local elections in Istanbul and Ankara, and some analysts have pointed to the importance of the big cities as a source of wealth for his network of family and friends.

Huge billboards of Mr. Erdogan and his candidate for Istanbul mayor, Binali Yildirim, thanking the public for their votes, have gone up around the city since Sunday night, a sign the party had been confident that their candidate would win.

What makes the loss heavy is actually a secret known by everyone, Cigdem Toker, an investigative reporter with the fiercely opposition newspaper, Sozcu, wrote in a column on Wednesday.

She added that Istanbul and Ankara were important to Mr. Erdogans party because they are the centers of distributing financial resources.

We are talking about tens of thousands of bids, public resources that can be identified with hundreds of billions, and the authority to spend them, wrote Ms. Toker, who is facing several court cases brought by Mr. Erdogans government for her investigative reporting.

A new administration in Istanbul could end the flow of major city contracts for construction projects and city services that have been granted to favored businessmen.

A new administration could also end payments worth millions of dollars to endowments of charities and foundations run by the Erdogan family.

In January, Ms. Toker published details of payments made in 2018 by the Istanbul metropolitan municipality to foundations and charities run by Mr. Erdogans children and their spouses.

Ms. Toker wrote that TUGVA, the Turkish Youth Foundation, received 74 million lira, or approximately $13 million by current exchange rates, that year from the municipality. Bilal Erdogan, Mr. Erdogans younger son, sits on TUGVAs board.

The Archers Foundation, an archery sports club, received 16 million lira, or about $2 million, she reported. Bilal Erdogan sat on the board, she reported at the time. He has been widely known for his association with the foundation, although his name no longer appears on its website.

TURGEV, the Turkey Youth and Education Service Foundation, received 51 million lira, or about $9 million, she said. Esra Albayrak, Mr. Erdogans daughter, is on its board.

The Turkey Technology Team Foundation, known as T3, where Mr. Erdogans son-in-law Selcuk Bayraktar is head of the board, received 41 million lira or about $7 million, she also reported.

Her source for all of the payments was the 2018 Istanbul Municipality Report, which was not made public, underscoring Mr. Erdogans sensitivity to the wider disclosure of such documents by the opposition.

Mr. Erdogans signature success has been construction projects, from public residential building to infrastructure projects and expensive megaprojects like bridges and mosques. Opponents say that government contracts go to favored business partners, and that the AKP receives payments in a system of kickbacks from every deal.

Both the Ankara and Istanbul municipalities are heavily in debt, Mr. Ozgur warned in his column, and they may suffer if Mr. Erdogan, who controls the national budget, refuses them central government funds as punishment for the way they voted on Sunday.

Mr. Imamoglu, who announced his plans for Istanbul to international reporters Monday night, said he was prepared for that retribution and was confident Istanbul could generate enough of its own money to run itself.

He added that he had received indications of support from high within Turkeys state apparatus, if not in the lower ranks of the government, where support for Mr. Erdogan remains strong.

As president, Mr. Erdogan retains sweeping powers and could make life difficult for the incoming mayors, said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the Ankara director for the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

The AKP will control the municipal councils, and they have a say in particular in how the budget is allocated, he said. This control over the purse strings has long been a source of support for Mr. Erdogan and his party.

Ms. Toker reported Wednesday that there were signs already that the government was seeking ways to maintain control of resources. The Interior Ministry was taking steps to shift the approval of bids above a certain amount from municipal authorities to Mr. Erdogans personal control, she wrote.

In this way when it comes to investments in opposition controlled municipalities, the decision will be made in Bestepe, she wrote, a reference to the presidential palace.

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Erdogans Opponents Promise Scrutiny of Istanbuls Books ...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan – President (non-U.S.) – Biography

Who Is Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1954, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became involved in politics while attending university. The first Islamist to be elected mayor of Istanbul, he reduced pollution and improved the city's infrastructure, but was imprisoned on charges of inciting religious hatred.Erdogan later served three terms as prime minister, during which time he markedly improved Turkey's economic standing, but drew criticism for perceived power grabs. He was voted the country's president in 2014, and after surviving an attempted military coup in July 2016, he earned reelection two years later.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was born on February 26, 1954, in the Kasimpasa quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, to parents Ahmet and Tenzile Erdogan. He spent part of his childhood in Rize, where his father worked as a coastguard, before the family returned to Istanbul when he was 13.

Raised without much money, Erdogan sold lemonade and sesame buns on the streets as a teenager. A talented football player, he competed for many years and reportedly drew interest from top clubs, but was prevented from pursuing that path by his father. Erdogan instead attended the religious Istanbul Imam Hatip School, where he becameinvolved with the National Turkish Students Association, and passed the exams to earn a diploma from Eyup High School as well.

Influenced by the teachings of National Salvation Party leader Necmettin Erbakan, Erdogan was elected head of the party's Beyoglu Youth Branch and Istanbul YouthBranch in 1976. The party was dissolved in the wake of a 1980 military coup, and after Erdogan earned a graduate degree from Marmara Universitys Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences in 1981, he worked as an accountant and a manager in the private sector.

Erdogan returned to politics with the formation of the Welfare Party in 1983, becoming the Beyoglu District head in 1984. The following year, he was voted the IstanbulProvincial head and named to the Central Executive Board. Tasked with improving voter turnout, Erdogan was credited for the party's success in the 1989 municipalelections.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994. The first Islamist to serve in this role, he demonstrated his religious commitment by banning alcohol from city-owned cafes. He also successfully tackled the city's water shortage, reduced pollution and improved infrastructure, helping to modernize the country's capital.

Erdogan came under serious fire in December 1997 after publicly reciting a poem which included the lines "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers." Charged with violating secularist law and inciting religious hatred, he was forced to step down as mayor and barredfrom public office, and ultimately wound up serving four months in prison in 1999.

His prison sentence complete, Erdogan co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001. The AKP claimed a resounding victory in the 2002 parliamentaryelections, and Erdogan soon had his power officially restored thanks to a constitutional amendment that overturned his political ban. He became prime minister ofTurkey on March 9, 2003, and subsequently was reelected to the position twice more.

As prime minister, Erdogan markedly improved Turkey's economic standing. He reigned in inflation and encouraged foreign investment, leading to a risein per capita income, stronger credit ratings and close ties with Western allies. However, Erdogan also increasingly became known as an authoritarian leader out to increase thebreadth of his power. In 2013, he had several senior military officials imprisoned for life for plotting to overthrow the AKP, and also ordered the military to crushpeaceful demonstrations at Istanbul's Gezi Park. The following year, after condemning the use of social media, he briefly blocked Turkey's access to Twitter andYouTube.

After reaching his term limits as prime minister, Erdogan became the AKP's candidate in Turkey's first direct election for the presidency, and was inaugurated onAugust 28, 2014. Although the role had previously been more of a ceremonial one, Erdogan indicated his intention to establish new powers as president. His goal wastemporarily impeded when the AKP failed to garner a majority in the 2015 parliamentary elections, but after attempts to form a coalition government faltered, the AKPregained the majority in an election that November.

Mountingunrest boiled over in the form of anattempted military coup on the night of July 15, 2016. Erdogan, who was vacationing with his family, narrowly avoided trouble when his hotel was raided, and successfully escaped to Istanbul. Out of harm's way, he took to the video chat app FaceTime to implore his countrymen to fight the renegade military units. He was largely supported by key government officials and influential figures, and within a few hours the coup, which resulted in more than 400 deaths and another 1,400 people injured, had been quashed.

Erdogan blamed the uprising on followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in exile in the United States, and demanded the cleric's extradition. Along with imprisoning thousands of military personnel, he had tens of thousands police officers, judges, civil servants and teachers suspended, detained or placed under investigation. He then declared a national state of emergency,lending credence to the idea that he would use the experience to oust his known enemies and claim even more power.

Those fears were realized with the narrow passage of a constitutional referendum in April 2017, which eliminated the post of prime minister and gave Turkey's president new executive powers, including the ability to appoint judges and officials.

After Erdogan called for early elections in 2018, opposition parties put up a spirited fight in an attempt to halt his consolidation of power. However, the incumbent earned a reported 53 percent of the vote in the June 24 election, enough to avoid a runoff with the runner-up, Muharrem Ince. And while hisAKP earned less than 50 percent of the parliamentary vote, its alliance with the Nationalist Movement Party ensured a majority coalition there, as well.

That night, with the results still being processed but pointing toward victory, Erdogan delivered a short speech outside one of his Istanbul residences. "It seems the nation has entrusted me with the duty of the presidency, and to us a very big responsibility in the legislature," he said. "Turkey has given a lesson of democracy with a turnout of close to 90 percent. I hope that some will not provoke to hide their own failure."

Among the first steps Erdogan took in his second term was the formation of a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports. In August, Turkey announced its own tariffs on a string of U.S. goods that included cars and alcohol, while Erdogan delivered a speech in which he called for a boycott of American electronic products.

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan - President (non-U.S.) - Biography