Turkey’s elections: What are the key alliances promising?

Turks prepare to vote in crucial presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s public support is tested against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis.

A six-party opposition alliance has selected Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP), as its candidate.

Meanwhile, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK) added two conservative parties to its alliance alongside its two longtime nationalist partners, pushing the coalition further to the far right.

The economy is at the top of many Turks’ electoral agendas, with a cost-of-living crisis fueled by skyrocketing inflation.

Other issues that were much discussed during the campaign period included what the country’s system of governance should be, the fate of the millions of Syrians living in Turkey, and recovery policies to heal the country’s wounds from February’s twin earthquakes that killed tens of thousands. cost people their lives. and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.

There are three alliances that are expected to make it to parliament amid a significantly high seven percent electoral threshold in Turkey’s recently changed electoral system.

Here is an overview of the main policies and commitments of each alliance.

Alliance of the People

The alliance, led by Erdogan’s incumbent AK Party, also includes the nationalist National Movement Party and the Grand Unity Party, as well as the ultra-conservative New Welfare Party (YRP).

It is also supported by smaller outside parties such as Huda-Par, a predominantly Kurdish political Islamist party, although it has not officially joined the alliance.

The alliance’s campaign, led by the president, claims it can solve Turkey’s problems again as it did in the past.

• Earthquake assistance: Erdogan said his government will build a total of 650,000 new flats in southeastern Turkey, where the twin quakes hit, and pledged to deliver 319,000 of them in one year.
• Economy: Erdogan promised to reduce inflation in the country to 20 percent in 2023 and below 10 percent in 2024, but also stressed that he would continue to lower interest rates.
• Housing: The president vowed to announce more rules to protect citizens from extreme increases in rents and sales prices.
• Refugees: Erdogan promised more “voluntary” returns of Syrian refugees to their country, due to improved dialogue between Syria and Turkey as a result of Russian mediation efforts.

• Foreign policy: Erdogan aims to normalize Ankara’s ties in the wider region and aims to build an “axis” centered on Turkey. He said Ankara will continue to crack down on “terror groups” such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement.
• LGBTQ+ rights: Erdogan has said his government will “actively fight against deviant tendencies such as LGBT that threaten our family structure”. He also accused the opposition of being “pro-LGBT”.

Galip Dalay, a non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera that the main idea of ​​Erdogan’s campaign is “continuity, stability and grandeur,” with the aim of attracting conservative and nationalist voices.

“The alliance is using very sharp ‘fight against terror’ rhetoric to appeal to nationalist sentiments in the country as it pledges to keep Turkey strong, independent and respected in foreign policy,” he said.

“The anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, which promises to uphold conservative family values, is designed to appeal to conservative people and sentiments in the country,” added Dalay. “These topics are likely to become the new battlefield of identity politics in Turkey.”

National Alliance

Led by the main opposition party CHP and the right-wing Iyi party, the alliance includes a broad spectrum of parties, including the liberal-right Democracy and Progress (DEVA) party and the centre-right Gelecek party, led by two former Erdogan allies , ex-Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and ex-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The alliance also includes the smaller ultra-conservative Saadet Party and the right-wing Democratic Party.

Their candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu and the alliance’s campaign promise change after more than 20 years of AK Party rule. They pledge to uphold democracy, media freedom and the rule of law.

• Earthquake assistance: Kilicdaroglu has vowed to build free houses for earthquake victims and to ban property sales to foreigners until Turkey’s housing crisis is resolved for citizens.
• Economy: The presidential candidate has pledged to reintroduce more traditional economic policies and curb inflation, undercutting Erdogan’s policy of low interest rates. Kilicdaroglu said he will work to regain foreign investor confidence in Turkey while transforming it into a country for the production of high-quality products.
• Management: The Nation Alliance is also seeking to abolish the executive presidential system introduced by Erdogan through a referendum in 2017 and bring back a strong parliamentary system to rule Turkey.
• Housing: The opposition candidate said his government will quadruple the stock of social housing in five years and that social housing rental costs will be capped at 20 percent of the minimum wage.
• Refugees: Kilicdaroglu has said he will work to return Syrian refugees to their country in coordination with the Syrian government.
• Foreign policy: Kilicdaroglu stated that he wants to talk to all international actors and restore the country’s relations with the West. Kilicdaroglu said Turks could travel to the Schengen area of ​​the European Union without a visa within months of taking office.

Dalay said the Nation Alliance uses a rhetoric of “change” in almost all policy areas to attract people who are not happy with the current situation in Turkey.

They blame the current economic situation on the government’s unorthodox policies, which they consider irrational, and work hard to establish links between the country’s deepening economic crisis and the government’s economic policies in the minds of the people,” Dalay said.

“They promise to implement changes in almost all policy areas and to change the political system by which Turkey is governed. They want to end what they say is ‘one-man rule’ and re-enforce the country’s institutions, promising accountability and transparency.”

Alliance for Labor and Freedom

The left-wing alliance is led by the third-largest party in Turkey, the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), whose members will race in parliamentary elections under the banner of the Green Left Party due to an ongoing litigation case.

The Workers’ Party of Turkey is the second largest party in the alliance, followed by smaller left-wing groups.

The alliance has supported Kilicdaroglu in the presidential elections. In its manifesto, the group said its main goal is to “stop the destruction caused by the one-man government” in Turkey.

• Earthquake assistance: The Labor and Freedom Alliance wants to use all vacant housing stock and public social services in the country to meet the needs of people affected by the earthquakes as quickly as possible.
• Economy: The alliance supports left-wing economic policies, especially those aimed at improving the living conditions of the working class and providing free and high-quality health care, transport and education.
• Management: The group says it wants to play a leading role in Turkey’s democratic transformation and supports a return to a parliamentary system.
• Kurds: The alliance wants a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question in the country through the Turkish parliament. They are also seeking to end the practice of removing duly elected HDP mayors and replacing them with government-appointed administrators.
• LGBTQ+: The alliance aims to remove all political, administrative, economic and cultural barriers to social gender equality for women and the LGBTQ community.

According to Dalay, the Labor and Freedom Alliance’s campaign strategy includes “more politics than policy” as they support a third party and will not take power themselves.

“The alliance is pleased that the People’s Alliance candidate is Kilicdaroglu, a left-wing candidate, who probably had a major influence on their decision to support him,” he said.