Topic Summary: 

 

A liberal democracy has been present in Turkey on and off since 1950. Be that as it may, ever since the 2015 elections were held, tension has grown due to the political rejection. Political elites did not accept the results, in which the Justice and Democracy Party (AKP) lost its absolute majority to the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP, pro- Kurdish leftist). This became a crisis to the representative democracy and given that they are far from compatible, anger aroused. In July of the election year, the conflict between the PKK armed group and the Armed Forces was renewed, which only concluded to the end of the peace process between the Government and the Kurds.

After all these events, Turkey held a referendum in April of 2017 to amend the Constitution. The changes imply a switch from a parliamentary system to a presidential system, without control mechanisms. However, the international observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) stated that the referendum in Turkey did not follow the Council of Europe standards. The campaign period was very unfair, the principles of "free and fair" elections were violated multiple times. This, combined with the decision issued by the Supreme Electoral Commission to also count the votes without the official seal, raised many doubts about the legitimacy of the referendum, despite its importance for the future of the country. Marches occur every month, and people are furious that their democracy is not being compiled as it should. Still, many are afraid to speak out, due to the corruption of the government and the multiple terrorist attacks that have happened.

 

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