Will elections bring end of 'Erdogan era'?
The rising fortunes of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party may mean the beginning of the end of the "Erdogan era."
Around 60 million people are eligible to vote in Turkey, and 85-90% of them are predicted to vote on June 7. Approximately 50 million people will be deciding not only their own country’s destiny but also, to a certain extent, the future of the Middle East where Turkey has an important role to play because of its unique geopolitics.
No matter the outcome, the elections seem to spell an uncertain future for Turkey for an unforeseeable period.
There are two main alternatives for the Turkish electorate to decide, and each has a number of subtexts in itself: Either larger-than-life Erdogan will receive a green light to achieve his quest for an increasingly autocratic rule through his enhanced status, or the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will lose its grip on power, unable to form a single-party government as it has managed to since 2002. Thus, it will be the beginning of the end of Erdogan’s ambitions and ultimately his political demise.
The first alternative seemingly will preserve the status quo for the power holders, but it does not mean a recipe for Turkey’s stability. On the contrary, it would push the country to implosion under the increasingly intolerable harsh rule of Erdogan and his party and within the broader context in the already volatile region where violence grips more and more of Syria and Iraq.
