Journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, in a discussion with Medya Haber TV on Monday, traced the government’s defeat back to its financial and colonialist policies, particularly the immense expenditure of USD 1 trillion on warfare against the Kurdish population, which he identifies as the core of Turkey’s economic distress and the electoral outcome.
Turkey’s crucial local elections on Sunday resulted in a major shift in voter allegiances, marking a historic defeat for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) alliance. Meanwhile, the main opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party scored historic victories. The CHP secured Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, while the DEM Party retook municipalities where trustees had been appointed, alongside first-time victories in places such as Muş.
Mavioğlu underscored the direct consequences of anti-Kurd policies on the country’s economy and its citizens’ welfare. “Pensioners visibly protested in the streets… voicing their refusal to support those responsible for their plight,” he stated, shedding light on the public’s growing discontent with the government’s failure to ameliorate economic hardships. The situation was further aggravated by excessive military spending and a resultant fiscal deficit, severely restricting the government’s capacity for domestic policy adjustments and financial support measures.
“The Bureau Workers’ Union calculated the necessary amount for survival, setting the hunger threshold at 24,003 lira and the poverty line at 63,000 lira,” Mavioğlu noted, underscoring the profound impact of the government’s spending priorities on citizens, with a significant majority of the population falling below the poverty line.
Mavioğlu’s analysis indicates that the electoral shift was not merely a response to immediate economic conditions but also a referendum on decades of conflict and policy choices that have prioritised military expenditure over social welfare.
