Turkey's elections: more journalists in jail there than any other country in the world

While Turkey is holding its national parliamentary elections tomorrow (Sunday) the International Press Institute reported that there are more journalists in prison in Turkey (63) than any other country in the world, including China and Iran. The IPI furthermore noted that most of the arrested journalists were taken into custody either under Turkey’s anti-terror law or for alleged crimes under the criminal code’s prohibitions on “founding, leading or becoming a member of an armed organization for the purpose of committing certain offenses.”

The report also noted the extremely long sentences have been requested for journalists. Ibrahim Çiçek and Bayram Namaz from Atılım newspaper, for example, each face up to 3,000 years in prison.

In tomorrow 7695 candidates will compete for the deputy’s mandate at the elections attended by 15 political parties. A total of 7492 of the candidates are the representatives of political parties, other 203 join the elections independently. Some 2.568.977 voters in foreign countries are voting at 25 customs check-points as of today May 10. A total of 85 MPs on 3 constituencies from Istanbul, 31 MPs on 2 constituencies from Ankara and 16 MPs on 2 constituencies will be elected at the elections.

As in every general election in Turkey in the past two decades, the country’s Kurds are again trying to circumvent an unusually high constitutional barrier to send their folks to the parliament in Ankara. The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which is mainly backed by nationalist Kurds supports its members to run as independent candidates to avoid falling below the 10 percent election threshold. On June 12, over 60 independent candidates backed by the party will race to grab at least 35 seats in the 550-member legislature. The Kurds make up around 20 percent of Turkey’s nearly 75 million people.

Emine Ülker Tarhan a former Supreme Court justice in Ankara is challenging Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the Turkish leadership. The prime minister, she alleges, is establishing a surveillance state and is "becoming more dictatorial every day."

Nevertheless according to pollsters, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) is expected to cruise to victory with between 45 and 50% of the vote, enough to form its third one-party government since 2002. It gained  47% in 2007 parliamentary elections. Polls also show that Turks are generally satisfied with AKP’s economic successes, but many are wondering that while the region shakes off one dictator after the other, if the tide in Turkey is not turning the other way and towards a religiously oriented dictatorship. Even though  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan  and his party have managed to largely allay fears that they may be taking Turkey toward governance under Islamic law, the lingering question of the party’s commitment to democracy weighs heavily on the electorate.

EU-Digest