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Democracy promotion / Comment

What next for Turkey?

25/09/2007 By Sabiha Senyücel

Following the extended presidential election process that began on April 24th, with the offi cial announcement of Abdullah Gul as the AKP’s candidate, and ended on August 28th, with the election of Gul as president, Turkey has entered a new phase in its political life.

These developments attracted much attention from the European continent, Muslim world and the other side of the Atlantic. Why was the world watching so closely and what were they expecting to see?

Before answering these questions, a quick recap of recent developments would be benefi cial. Although four months may not seem like a long time, Turkey has witnessed a dramatic statement from the military, a constitutional court decision and two elections.

The political crisis caused by the presidential election was worsened by the military’s e-statement. After weeks of ambiguity, early general elections were called. The military’s extraordinary anti-democratic intervention did not escape severe criticism from Europe.

This was not the picture our European friends would like to have seen. The “Turkosceptics” couldn’t wait to claim that “this is enough proof of Turkey’s democracy defi ciencies and the lack of civilian control of the armed forces”.

Although, the “Turkophiles” delivered encouraging messages, the framework for EU negotiations clearly states that Turkey needs to comply with the necessary political criteria.

The elections process was heavily criticised in Turkey’s latest progress report.

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Keywords

Elections Turkey

Bio author: Sabiha Senyücel