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Economic pledges stand out in the election manifestos that Turkey’s political parties have announced ahead of the Nov. 1 snap polls, called after the June 7 elections produced a political deadlock. Targeting a wide range of social groups — retirees, minimum-wage earners, farmers, women, the young, the jobless and the indebted — the promises strain both the imagination and the limits of the country’s budget.
Representing two bulky vote reservoirs, the 11 million retirees and 5 million minimum-wage earners are accorded special attention. Unlike the June 7 polls, when only the opposition made pledges to these two groups, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is in play this time.
