By Nergis Demirkaya
With the “Terror-Free Turkey” process on one hand and the row over operations targeting CHP-run municipalities on the other, it’s easy to forget that the country’s main problem is deepening poverty and social decay.
The opposition is not wrong in holding the AKP — in power for 23 straight years — responsible for this bleak picture. AKP members, too, are aware that winning elections will become increasingly difficult unless steps are taken to address economic problems.
In the coming months, alongside legislation such as the law on the return of PKK members who lay down their arms, new judicial packages, and amendments to the land registry law, major economic regulations will also be on the agenda. As a ruling AKP politician said, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is well aware of where he could concede goals in elections. Measures to support pensioners and low-income citizens will be among the key items on Parliament’s agenda in the new legislative year. Work has also begun on restricting social media — targeted for allegedly posing various risks to children and young people — as well as on measures against illegal betting and online gambling.
ELECTORAL PENSION PACKAGE
Let’s begin with the economy, the first area where the AKP plans to introduce regulations based on electoral calculations. Regarding low pension incomes, the ruling partners have argued that “as economic growth increases, the share allocated to pensioners will also rise.” Within the AKP, the timeframe cited for this is the second half of 2026. A new social security package is being discussed, including measures to reduce losses by equalizing different pension schemes and launching a “special social housing project” for those who rely solely on pension income. Higher increases in pension payments are also being planned. But the ruling alliance is aware that the legislation must be adopted before the end of 2026 to avoid creating the perception of “electoral bribery.”
CITIZENSHIP INCOME
One of the AKP’s key initiatives is the “Income Supplement Family Support” program, known to the public as a “citizenship income”, or “citizenship wage.” The announcement came from Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz during the 2026 budget talks. The aim is to support low-income families. Under the new program, an average income threshold will be determined in the first half of the year, varying by region and province — different for Istanbul, different for Hakkari. Households falling below this threshold will receive “household-based” support payments.
This will be a significant form of support for households earning below the minimum wage. In a province where the income threshold is set at 25,000 lira, if a household earns 20,000 lira, the state will cover the remaining 5,000. The scheme is also expected to include families living on the lowest pension income. Additionally, various social assistance programs will be consolidated under a single framework, a long-planned structural reform. The legislation on income support is expected to be submitted to Parliament later this year following pilot projects, with nationwide rollout targeted for 2027. Ruling-party figures see this measure as the most important campaign instrument heading into elections.
SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR KIDS
Another major regulation on the AKP’s agenda is a social media ban for children. A ban imposed on children under 16 in Australia is now also being discussed in Turkey. The draft bill is expected to be submitted to Parliament in the coming weeks. According to the proposal, children under 15 will be barred from registering on social media platforms. Age verification upon login will rely on methods such as facial recognition, algorithms that estimate age based on online behavior, or identity verification.
Aggravated penalties will be introduced for digital crimes committed against children. A new oversight mechanism will be established for online games. Game distributors with more than 100,000 daily users from Turkey will be required — like Facebook and X — to appoint local representatives. If representatives are not appointed or obligations are not fulfilled, platforms will face fines, bandwidth throttling, and access restrictions. These measures will be implemented by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), which has previously been responsible for controversial restrictions on internet access.
OPPOSITION FEARS ANOTHER SUPPRESSIVE MEASURE
Opposition parties support taking measures to protect children from the dangers of the digital world but argue that bans are not the solution. They maintain that responsibility for such regulation cannot be entrusted to the BTK, which has imposed nationwide restrictions through bandwidth throttling during earthquakes or operations targeting CHP-run municipalities.
Tuncay Özkan, a CHP member of Parliament’s Digital Platforms Commission, argues: “The BTK is a censorship body. Instead of a blanket social media ban for children, alternative social media networks linked to the education curriculum should be developed. A separate supervisory board composed of experts should be established outside the BTK to monitor and regulate these efforts. If the BTK were successful, it would have prevented online betting and gambling.”
Meanwhile, the fight against online gambling and illegal betting — whose rapid spread has reportedly contributed to several suicides in recent months — is another topic of debate. The government has announced an action plan to combat this problem, but additional legislative measures are also on the table. Judging by these plans, the coming months will see intense debate over regulations affecting broad segments of society.
