Erdogan is Now Powerful than Ever: It Becomes a One Man Regime

Erdogan is Now Powerful than Ever: It Becomes a One Man Regime. President Erdogan is already the longest-serving leader in Turkey, and he can still count for at least five years. One thing is undeniable: in the coming years, he will have little trouble with sleepers, reports Vital News.

“The winner of this election is our democracy, our nation,” said Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday in his victory speech. With a rise of 90 percent, he called the elections an example of a ‘healthy democracy’.

In the eyes of the opposition, democracy in Turkey is not so healthy at all. Democracy is, they say, the big loser.

After today, Erdogan is more potent than ever. Turkey has no premier and Erdogan can now decide much more. Erdogan won the referendum last year, but the new system will only come into effect.

Dangerous, says opposition leader Muharrem Ince. “The fact that one party or one man form the state and also the executive, legislative and judiciary are fundamentally contradictory to the country’s continued existence, which will continue to pose a great threat to Turkey.”

In the aftermath of the failed coup, critical sounds were already severely weakened; tens of thousands of civil servants, judges, lawyers and journalists have been imprisoned in recent years. And the media in Turkey are now almost entirely in the hands of companies that are linked to the president.

“All the factors that threaten our national peace are still present, and it is becoming a one-man regime”, says opposition leader Ince.

But an energetic president is precisely what is needed, according to Erdogan’s supporters. The new president promises to take hard action against terror groups such as the PKK and IS. Erdogan also wants to be more active in Syria. “The Turkish people have determined that the fight against all terror groups from PKK to Gulen must be pursued with determination.”

Turkey, the NATO member, is also increasingly looking at Russia. Putin and Erdogan have called extensively today and recently concluded a significant deal on defence systems. The relationship with Europe does not seem to improve soon after today.