These are being held under a State of Emergency. This gives the Government almost unlimited powers of arrest and control, at a time when it already dominates the media. The People’s Democratic Party (HDP) is the third largest party in the Parliament, but has been demonized as a collaborator of terrorists. This accusation disregarded the party’s achievement in securing the Dolmabache Agreement in early 2015, to end a long civil war. In the south-east, where HDP has massive support, village polling stations have been moved to towns, thus forcing voters to pass through numerous military check-points before voting.
The HDP presidential candidate is Mr Selahattin, a former Mayor of Diyarbakir city and a current member of parliament. He has been held in prison for the last 20 months, with no court hearing during the first year. Charges were then produced, based on his speeches, so the evidence is words rather than deeds. His prison is in western Thrace, as far as possible from his home and family, while still remaining in Turkey. The second largest party in the elections is the CHP, the traditional secular party stemming from Ataturk.
When the above facts are taken together with the 10% of total votes before a party can gain seats, one may well ask whether these elections can be free or fair.
(Hylton
June 2018)
Recently the Turkish President visited one of the Emirates. Its photo opportunity allowed people to examine the reassuring body language between King and President.
The King’s authority comes from divine right whilst the President’s is by consent of the people. The King cannot pardon his failings whilst the President can. That at least is the theatre of power.
The President it seems is completely unaware that his authority too comes from divine right. Indeed one could say he serves two Gods.
The preamble to the Turkish constitution says:
“…Affirming the eternal existence of the Turkish Motherland and Nation and the indivisible unity of the Sublime Turkish State, this Constitution, in line with the concept of nationalism introduced by the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Atatürk, the immortal leader and the unrivalled hero…”
The people of Turkey chose to deify each President turning them into immortal Gods and in the tradition of Imperial Rome.
The segment “…the indivisible unity of the Sublime Turkish State…” is a rebuff to the Treaty of Sèvres and this is why the politics of self determination in Turkey are difficult.
The principle of deification is captured in the Nicene Creed. In theory any mortal may declare themselves a God so each Turkish President is compliant.
The changes to Turkish law linked below are in a form that allows easy scrutiny. The link to the Turkish constitution is per Act No 4121, 1995. The link to Law Drafting in Turkey is circa 2006.
Ref: Treaty of Sèvres: a valid instrument of international law
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Sèvres
Turkish Parliament: proposed constitutional amendments 2017
https://politicsandlawinturkey.wordpress.com/…/2017-amendment-proposal-to-the-turkish-constitution/
Legislative Drafting in Turkey: an overview
https://www.oecd.org/mena/governance/41727786.pdf
Constitution of the Republic of Turkey
https://global.tbmm.gov.tr/docs/constitution_en.pdf
Once again, we are facing another Country’s “divine-right-of-kings deeply-entrenched and constitutional fantasising”,
whilst ourselves remaining blind to our own similar
(if not ‘congruent)
deeply-entrenched social and constitutional “imagined-hierarchies” and “mind-functional-fantasies”.
The world-wide governancially-and-socio-economicly “domineering-doctoral-denizen”
is historicly-currently ‘parasiticly’ gorging off such fantasy and delusion,
by craving more-and-more “power”
without first establishing its own multiple-ability to wield that power
both environmentally-and-civilisationally
“sustainworthily-constructively”
and
“Individual-and-Collective Human Developmentally”.