Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Sweeping reforms to capital markets institutions will hinge on a State Audit Council (DDK) report on the multi-billion-dollar investment fund scandal, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan awaiting its findings before taking action.
The pro-Kurdish DEM Party has called for the peace process law to be freed from the “tutelage” of the National Security Council (MGK), as a delayed council decision holds up implementation.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on Oct. 1 condemning what it called a coordinated campaign against LGBTQ+ people and rights defenders in Turkey.
OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu is testing the waters with the Security Council's permanent members for the post of UN secretary-general, although the regional rotation favors a candidate from the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC).
Turkey’s top appeal court, the Court of Cassation, has elected a new Presidential Council, and the results deal a sharp blow to the court's top leadership.
The Higher Education Council (YÖK) has effectively barred academics at public universities from monetizing content on YouTube and digital platforms, classifying online revenue as commercial trade, which is illegal for civil servants.
After the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed an 8 million lira administrative fine on ATV, outlets belonging to pro-government Turkuvaz Media published articles targeting the watchdog.
The opposition's advantage in Istanbul's Municipal Council is decreasing while the ruling AKP and MHP are increasing their numbers.
The Yeni Party became Turkey's main opposition party soon after its founding, with 91 lawmakers among its founders. Mayors and municipal council members continued to join the party, while the crackdown against its supporters continued at full speed across the country.
The top business association, TÜSİAD, urged the government to focus on development over mere economic growth. The meeting of the group’s High Advisory Council saw Chair Ömer Aras, who was detained last year after criticism over democracy and the rule of law, carefully avoid those topics this time around.
The CHP’s efforts to thwart the judicial crackdown through holding congresses once again faced obstacles.Nevertheless, CHP Istanbul provincial head Özgür Çelik, who has been ousted by court decision, was re-elected, after the Supreme Election Council rejected the court’s efforts to stop the congress.
The planned meeting of the Turkish–Greek High-Level Cooperation Council (HLC) in Ankara on February 11 comes when the calm in relations between Ankara and Athens conceals numerous fragilities. That’s just one reason why the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is unlikely to produce a breakthrough. Rather, the meeting aims to keep communication channels open while both sides pursue sharply divergent agendas in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.