On March 31, Türkiye will once again exercise its democratic right to vote in local government elections. Yet, this election transcends mere local political dynamics; it stands as a pivotal moment shaping the trajectory of Turkish politics at large. In the wake of the May 23 general elections, Türkiye’s political landscape is undergoing significant shifts,
We are heading towards one of the most unfair and unequal elections in our history on March 31st. Despite its being a local elections, its results will have profound effects on Turkish poltical landscape, especially in Istanbul. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to have mobilized the entire state machinery to prevent the re-election of Istanbul’s
Very early this morning, I talked to the Dubai-based Gulf Intelligence, one of the world’s leading energy think tanks, about the latest developments in the world, our region and Turkey. What follows is a succinct summary of what I elaborated. Accelerating the energy transition is a “fantasy” Green energy transformation is, of course, a process
Since the bloody attack on the concert hall in Moscow, I have been speaking with sources from the intelligence, security, and diplomatic circles. The point they all converge on is that the March 22 attack of the ISIS Khorasan province branch, (ISIS-K) which killed 139 people in Moscow, differs from known ISIS actions in terms
Russian authorities announced that as of the evening of March 25th, the number of casualties from the attack on a concert hall in Moscow on the evening of March 22 had reached 139, with nearly 140 injured. Three days after the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that “radical Islamists” carried out the attack, which
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan complained on March 24 that the participation to his “Great İstanbul Again” rally ahead of the March 31 local elections was less than the half of what he had expected. In fact, he should be grateful that hundreds and thousand of his supporters were there despite the disappointment of the ongoing
We were chatting with an American diplomat, who held high positions in the US State Department while on duty, during the coffee break of an important meeting in Marrakesh. Stating that in the critical period we are in, the USA has been acting as if it has discarded Türkiye. In contrast, new dynamics have emerged
On one hand the accelerating race for the local elections on March 31st seems more like a competition to get a share of the corrupt municipal pie than to serve the public. On the other, judicial authorities, not to mention the government, refuse to comply with a judicial decision just as the Court of Cassation
Last weekend, Murat Karayılan, one of the leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), announced that he would deliver “good news” soon, which drew attention to what he would reveal. On one hand, Newroz was approaching, and Kurdish-issue focused People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) had organized rallies spreading throughout the week, while on
The Turkish Central Bank’s (CBRT) Monetary Policy Committee (PPK) increased the policy rate by 500 base points from 45 percent to 50 percent at its March 21 meeting. In the statement made by the PPK, which convened under the chairmanship of Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan, it was stated that it was decided to increase