The Democratic Party

Today, I will write about the DP and tomorrow will focus on the SP. I will however not make any analytical estimation.

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Since I am not one of those fake liberals who are interested in introducing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a liberal-democrat although he turns more of an autocrat everyday, I am passionately seeking a strong liberal-democrat party representing center-right. Although I was angry at political leaders who closed their eyes to the "376 scandal," I was so excited by the coalition of ANAP+DYP = DP that had emerged just before the July 22 general elections. This partnership didn’t work however, due to the DP leader Mehmet Ağar and the center-right was rightfully criticized by people July 22. I was disappointed for a long time. Then, a young DP leader has come to the fore: Süleyman Soylu!

Soylu will either make a meaningful move March 29 or will take his party to a point way back from the July 22 elections and will have to transfer the flag to someone else. This will of course be at people’s discretion!

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Soylu has traveled 260,000 kilometers in the last 14 months and addressed people over 330 times in 44 provinces in the last 27 days exhausted himself and tried to introduce the new version of his party that rid of the old machiavellian administrators. He is almost rebuilding the DP!

Although Soylu rarely takes the stage in big cities except the Gaziosmanpaşa meeting where he was able to gather 30,000 people in the square. He is focusing to express himself in smaller cities and rural counties. He finds audiences in villages and towns especially. And in some municipalities his victory is being forecasted. But I will in general look into how many votes the DP will win in city councils.

The DP won nearly 1.9 million votes in the July 22 elections, 5.42 percent of the total vote cast (see: Supreme Election Board). If DP surpasses 5.42 percent in this election, I will have more hope. If it drops below 5.42 percent, I will wait for Soylu to do what is necessary.

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The governing Justice and Development Party, or AKP, divides people and governs the country today. The Republican People’s Party, or CHP, has allowed the AKP’s separatist attitude. I am worried about a shift in the government toward an autocratic administration and a patronizing conservatism. The number one characteristic of liberal-democratic center-right is to embrace everyone without discrimination. The center-right is a view that combines conservative values of people with innovations needed the most. The center-right makes no imposition whatsoever.

Political parties having the utmost respect for freedoms and individual rights are liberal democrat parties. Turkey needs a party that will simultaneously allow headscarf in universities, let Alevis have an equal share in the budget, protect the rights of Kurds, prepare a new Constitution, passionately defend Turkey’s EU bid and will not fall into corruption and poverty traps. Could the DP be an alternative to the center-right? That is my question!