Opposition Roadmap for Undoing Erdogan’s Legacy

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Türkiye’s main opposition alliance, greets his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, in Tekirdag, Türkiye April 27, 2023. (Reuters)
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Türkiye’s main opposition alliance, greets his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, in Tekirdag, Türkiye April 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Opposition Roadmap for Undoing Erdogan’s Legacy

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Türkiye’s main opposition alliance, greets his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, in Tekirdag, Türkiye April 27, 2023. (Reuters)
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Türkiye’s main opposition alliance, greets his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, in Tekirdag, Türkiye April 27, 2023. (Reuters)

Türkiye’s multi-faceted opposition alliance wants to undo President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's two-decade legacy of highly centralized and religiously conservative rule.

Here is a look at its plan of action should it win next Sunday's parliamentary and presidential vote.

End 'one-man regime'

Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has portrayed his six-party alliance, which includes liberals, nationalists and religious conservatives, as a force for democratic change.

The 74-year-old former civil servant has pledged to "bring democracy to this country by changing the one-man regime".

The alliance vows to abandon the presidential system Erdogan introduced after winning a hard-fought constitutional referendum in 2017.

Instead, it wants lawmakers to elect a prime minister and for parliament to have oversight over ministries.

The president would be limited to a single seven-year term.

"Changing the political system will not be easy," said Bertil Oder, a professor of constitutional law at Istanbul's Koc University.

Such changes require a three-fifths majority in parliament, which the opposition will struggle to win on May 14, he pointed out.

Release prisoners

Kilicdaroglu says his first order of business will be to release some of the most high-profile opposition figures jailed under Erdogan.

These include the philanthropist Osman Kavala and the Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas, whose freedom has been long-sought by the West.

The opposition pledges to restore "independent and impartial" courts, which Erdogan stacked with allies after surviving a bloody coup attempt in 2016.

It also wants to revive freedom of expression and give independence to the media, now almost completely controlled by the government and its business allies.

"You will be able to criticize me very easily," Kilicdaroglu once quipped, pledging to abolish the criminal offence of "insulting the president".

Defend 'all women'

Representing the traditionally secular CHP party of Türkiye’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Kilicdaroglu has worked hard to gain the trust of religiously conservative women who wear the headscarf.

Kilicdaroglu has pledged to make the right to stay veiled in public guaranteed by law, to show he has no intention of reversing religious freedoms introduced by Erdogan.

"We will defend the rights of all women," Kilicdaroglu said, vowing to "respect everyone's beliefs, lifestyles and identities".

Kilicdaroglu also wants to rejoin the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty aimed at combating gender-based violence from which Türkiye withdrew under Erdogan's orders in 2021.

Restore economic orthodoxy

The opposition vows an immediate return to economic orthodoxy and a break with Erdogan's "Turkish economy model".

Erdogan's refusal to fight inflation by raising interest rates has sparked the worst economic crisis of his rule.

The official annual inflation rate touched 85 percent last year. Independent economists believe the real rate could have been twice as high, erasing gains of a new middle class created during Erdogan's first decade in power.

But a return to prosperity might take time, requiring the resuscitation of state institutions that became emaciated during Erdogan's era of centralized control.

"Whoever wins the election, Türkiye’s economy is unlikely to experience a quick recovery," said Erdal Alcin, a professor of international economics at Germany's Konstanz University.

Make peace

The opposition knows that Türkiye has irritated its NATO allies by forging a privileged relationship with Russia since 2016. It wants to restore trust with the West while maintaining a "balanced dialogue" with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

Ahmet Unal Cevikoz, the head of international relations in Kilicdaroglu's party, is also pushing for "full membership of the European Union", which has long remained on hold.

But the priority, said Cevikoz, is on reconciling with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- an essential condition for the "voluntary" return of 3.7 million Syrian refugees living in Türkiye.



Gaza Teen Amputee Recalls Nightmare of Losing Arms in Israeli Strike

Palestinian teenager Diaa Al-Adini, who had his both arms amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike on August 13 and was transferred from Al-Aqsa hospital due to an Israeli evacuation order, is helped by his sister Aya to drink iced juice on a beach outside a field hospital, in Deir... Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinian teenager Diaa Al-Adini, who had his both arms amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike on August 13 and was transferred from Al-Aqsa hospital due to an Israeli evacuation order, is helped by his sister Aya to drink iced juice on a beach outside a field hospital, in Deir... Purchase Licensing Rights
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Gaza Teen Amputee Recalls Nightmare of Losing Arms in Israeli Strike

Palestinian teenager Diaa Al-Adini, who had his both arms amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike on August 13 and was transferred from Al-Aqsa hospital due to an Israeli evacuation order, is helped by his sister Aya to drink iced juice on a beach outside a field hospital, in Deir... Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinian teenager Diaa Al-Adini, who had his both arms amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike on August 13 and was transferred from Al-Aqsa hospital due to an Israeli evacuation order, is helped by his sister Aya to drink iced juice on a beach outside a field hospital, in Deir... Purchase Licensing Rights

*Teenager Diaa al-Adini was one of the few Palestinians who found a functioning hospital in war-ravaged Gaza after he was wounded by an Israeli strike. But he did not have much time to recuperate after doctors amputated both of his arms.

Adini, 15, suddenly had to flee the overwhelmed medical facility after the Israeli military ordered people to leave before an attack in its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas. He made it to an American field hospital.

Many Palestinians have been displaced during the conflict, moving up and down and across the Gaza Strip seeking safe shelter. They are unlucky most of the time.

Scrambling to save your life is especially difficult for Palestinians like Adini, who require urgent medical care but get caught up in the chaos of the war, which erupted after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Memories of better days provide limited relief from reality in Gaza. Israeli strikes have reduced most of one of the most crowded places on earth to rubble as rows and rows of homes are destroyed.

“We used to swim, challenge each other, and sleep, me and my friend Mohammed al-Serei. We used to jump in the water and float on it," Reuters quoted Adini, who walked on a beach with his sister Aya recalling the few distractions from before.

His sister placed a towel over the place where his arms used to be and wiped his mouth.

- 'I CANNOT REPLACE MY AUNT'

The strike hit when he was in a makeshift coffee house.

The teenager, who spent 12 days in hospital before he was displaced also lost his aunt, her children and grandchildren in the war.

"As for my arms, I can get other ones fitted but I cannot replace my aunt," he said.

Israel responded to the Hamas attack in October -- the country's bloodiest day in its 75-year history -- with a military offensive that has killed at least 40,500 people and wounded 93,778 others, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel says it goes out of its way to avoid civilian casualties and has accused Hamas of using human shields, an allegation it denies.

The suffering is unlikely to end anytime soon unless mediation by the United States, Egypt and Qatar secures a ceasefire. And even then, there is a possibility hostilities will resume.

So all Palestinians can do is hope for treatment at the few functional hospitals as they face a humanitarian crisis -- severe shortages of food, fuel, power and medicine, as raw sewage increases the chance of disease.

“God willing, I will continue my treatment in the American hospital, and get limbs," said Adini.

He dreams of being like other children one day; to live a good life, get an education, drive cars and have fun. His sister Aya hopes that he can go back to his camera and iPad.