Turkey’s landmark elections

On May 14, Turkey will hold presidential and parliamentary elections, just three months after devastating earthquakes in the south of the country that have left millions homeless. The earthquake, the state response and the investigations into the vulnerability of so many buildings have electrified the campaign. They have also damaged an economy where inflation is currently running above 50% while the authorities pursue a policy of cheap money.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AK party have dominated politics for two decades, but elections in 2019 arguably marked a turning point as they lost Istanbul and Ankara to the opposition, despite all the advantages of incumbency and favourable media coverage. Economic policy has taken an increasingly unorthodox turn under Erdogan, while Turkey’s standing in rankings of democracy and its relations with Western states are worse today than ten years ago. Thus the election marks a fork in the road for Turkey: to continue down the path marked out by Erdogan, or to move in another direction.

Join Oxford Analytica’s client-only webinar on April 19 to discuss key questions, including:

• What factors will determine the election’s outcome?
• How would economic policy change, depending on whether Erdogan wins another term or not?
• What are the prospects for domestic governance and Turkey’s foreign relations?

A discussion between:

• Gonul Tol, Director of the Turkey Programme at the Middle East Institute (Washington, D.C.)
• Dr Karabekir Akkoyunlu, Co-Convenor of the MSc in Politics of the Middle East at SOAS and member of the Oxford Analytica expert contributor network
• Bernard Kennedy, Freelance Journalist/Independent Consultant and member of the Oxford Analytica expert contributor network

Chair: Nick Redman, Editor in Chief and Director of Analysis

This deep dive is a closed webinar only for Oxford Analytica clients. It will benefit those who are in foreign and defence ministries, intelligence agencies, as well as senior executives and those involved in government affairs, legal services and finance, public policy. Not a client? Find out more about the service and how we can help you navigate complex markets.

Each session is supported by a background briefing curated by our team of expert analysts who produce our flagship publication, the Oxford Analytica Daily Brief. These in-depth briefings are circulated to attendees in advance of each call and are available as written articles published in the Daily Brief.