The New Arab Voice podcast : Erdo-won: Turkey’s election and the next term

 

The New Arab Voice podcast brings you compelling audio journalism from the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and beyond.

SEASON 7, EPISODE 7 LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE Erdo-won: Turkey’s election and the next term Hello listeners,  The polls closed, the votes were counted, and Turkey woke up to a new dawn – albeit a new dawn that looked very similar to the previous one. After a runoff vote on 28 May, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sent back to the Presidential Palace, fending off a challenge from opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu. It was hoped by many the Kilicdaroglu could be the challenger who would be able to dislodge Erdogan from office and put an end to his increasingly authoritarian 20-year rule. However, when the results from the first round were announced, it became clear to most that this would not be the year of change at the top. Underperforming in the first round of votes, Kilicdaroglu lurched to the right for the run-off vote, vowing to expel refugees from Turkey. And while this was applauded by some on the far-right, it was not enough to secure electoral victory. In the wake of the election, there is a consensus that while the vote in Turkey was free – with no strong evidence of mass voter fraud – it was a long way from being fair. Over the years, Erdogan has centralised huge amounts of power around him. Furthermore, state broadcasters sang his praises, while other media outlets, controlled by his allies and supporters, also provided wall-wall coverage. This week on The New Arab Voice, we take a look at the Turkish presidential election. Why did the opposition underperform? How was Erdogan able to secure another electoral win? How was the fight skewed to favour the incumbent? What missteps did Kilicdaroglu’s campaign make? We also take a look at what comes next for Turkey and President Erdogan. Can the problems with the economy be rectified? How will foreign relations be handled? Finally, will Erdogan continue his authoritarian path? Joining us to share all the details from the election, we have Howard Eissenstat. Howard is an associate professor at St Lawrence University and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute. Also joining us is Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow and the Turkish Research Program director at The Washington Institute, and author of The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey. Don’t forget to follow The New Arab Voice on all the usual social media channels and subscribe wherever you stream your podcasts. If you’ve enjoyed this episode or any of our previous episodes, you can drop us a review. And if you really enjoy the podcast, why don’t you tell a friend. New episode is out later this week. Happy listening, Producer Hugo.