(No) Democracy in Turkey

The elections are being practiced in Turkey since the late 19th century, if we count the last few decades of Ottoman Empire. More then a century may seem a long time for a system to settle it certainly is not for democracy in Turkey. This can be seen by several facts about Turkey. The current prime minister in Turkey is in job for the 3^rd time and there is no reason for him to be elected for another term, he may even go for being the president and make changes in legislature to gain more power while doing so. This couldn’t happen in a real democracy.

There is also the issue of freedom of speech, which is one of the most important parts of a democracy. Prisons in Turkey are full of writers, the lucky writers who are not in the prisons are always in danger of losing their jobs if they write an article critical of the government. If the newspaper or the TV channel doesn’t fire the writer the government wants them to fire, they are faced with millions or even billions in taxes.

The courts of justice are not independent, the minister of justice can effect the election of judges, there were some instances of some judges and attorneys losing their job because they of the officials they were investigating. The police are in direct control of the minister of internal affairs, and recently they displaced a score of police chiefs because of the investigation on ministers’ relatives.

International organizations often report the high level of corruption in Turkish institutions. Which is a lot higher then democratic countries.

The government believes that democracy is only about the elections. There are currently no democratic parties in the council. The representatives and candidates are selected by one person only, the party leader, while the party leader is came to position by election it is the only democratic thing in the party, the decision are mostly made only by the party leader.

With all this dark facts about the state of democracy in Turkey, I think we are still lucky compared to other countries in our region. Turkish women had the right to vote even before the citizens of United States, they have equal rights as men unlike the other Muslim countries. Turkey is often considered a bridge between western and eastern cultures, we can also say that about democracy. I think Turkey is a lot more ‘West’ then ‘east’, but we still have a long road to be a real democracy.