Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairman and main opposition leader Özgür Özel has called for early elections within two months. Özel’s early election call followed the announcement of the most recent inflation figures as well as a hike to pensioners checks.
After attending a funeral Wednesday (July 3) at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, main opposition leader Özgür Özel spoke to reporters and demanded new elections in Turkey within two months.
Özel’s call for early elections followed the announcement of the most recent inflation numbers as well as a hike to checks for both pensioners and civil servants. A much discussed hike to Turkey’s minimum wage was notably absent from the announcement.
As inflation of the Turkish Lira has continued apace, the minimum wage has remained unchanged since the beginning of the year and stands at 17,000 TL per month. Although previous years have seen mid-year minimum wage hikes amidst soaring inflation, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek have insisted that such an increase will not be instituted in 2024 in a bid to slow devaluation of the Lira.
Özel has criticized the failure to hike the minimum wage as politically motivated, saying that mid-summer hikes have only been instituted in election years to win votes:
“Because there’s no election, there will be no minimum wage hike. Because there’s no election, the lowest pensioner checks are only 10,000 TL. Now they are demanding our retirees and minimum wage earners to survive for six more months on these checks.”
In his comments Wednesday, Özel remarked that due to inflation, the 17,000 TL minimum wage figure instituted in January is equivalent to only 13,000 TL today.
Hikes to pensioner and civil servant checks
According to the hikes announced this week, Turkey’s lowest-earning civil servants will earn 39,177 TL per month. Lowest-earning retired civil servants will see their checks increased to 17,000 TL per month. Standard pensioner checks, meanwhile, will stand at 10,000 TL per month according to the updated figures.
This week’s hike to pensioners checks follows months of refusal by Erdoğan and Şimşek to deliver an increase amidst efforts to introduce austerity measures. Erdoğan’s failure to hike pensioners checks prior to the local elections on March 31 is believed to have hurt the president at the polls, where many retirees are believed to have voted for the opposition or stayed home.
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Özel calls for early elections
Regarding his call for early elections, Özel said in his remarks Wednesday:
“With 360 votes in parliament, we can have early elections. If you ask when, we say tomorrow. Tomorrow, let’s vote for early elections within two months.”
In previous weeks, Özel had called for early elections within the next year or two. Erdoğan’s current five year term ends in 2028.
Amidst calls for early elections, questions remain regarding President Erdoğan’s eligibility for another term. Erdoğan is currently serving his second term under the presidential system instituted in 2018.
According to the 101st article of Turkey’s constitution, presidents are only allowed to serve two terms. Although Erdoğan had served as president prior to the introduction of the new system in 2018, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) ruled in 2023 that the president was eligible for another term because terms served prior to 2018 were deemed void following the introduction of the new system.
Although three opposition parties had filed objections to Erdoğan’s 2023 candidacy on these grounds, the president was given a green light for another term by the YSK.
According to Turkey’s constitution, early elections may open the door to a third Erdoğan term. The president is eligible to run for a third time provided his second term is not yet complete. Furthermore, such a decision can be made only by the Turkish parliament, not by Erdoğan himself.
Erdoğan and his coalition partners currently hold 320 of the 600 seats in Turkey’s parliament, short of the 360 necessary to call early elections.
Some opposition figures and observers fear Özel’s early election call could lead to a third Erdoğan term.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
