Will Turkish elections be free and fair?
Turkey’s President Erdogan has finally made it official, setting May 14 as the date for elections that many see as existential for Turkey’s authoritarian leader. After twenty years of dominating Turkish politics, and given the stakes for Erdogan, there are questions as to how far he will be willing to go on May 14th to ensure the results are in his favor, and whether there will be a peaceful transition of power. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program director at the Project on Middle East Democracy, joins me to look at whether the upcoming elections in Turkey will be free and fair, look at what role the international community and civil society can play to ensure the integrity of the elections, and explore whether Erdogan will be willing to hand over power should he lose.
Watch the FDD’s panel discussion featuring Merve Tahiroglu where these issues were explored: Turkey After Erdogan
You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:
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