WITH VOTES SLIPPING, ERDOĞAN TURNS TO PENSIONERS EARLY
Losing votes over the fund scandal and shaken almost daily as new figures with party links are exposed, the AKP government launched its election campaign early.
Analysis
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Losing votes over the fund scandal and shaken almost daily as new figures with party links are exposed, the AKP government launched its election campaign early.
Authorities launched a tax audit targeting Cengiz Holding, a prominent pro-government conglomerate, but the decision to move the case from Istanbul to Ankara has raised questions. The group is also facing fierce environmental backlash over its partnership in the COP31 climate summit.
On Jan. 20, 1921, as the War of Independence was still being fought, the Grand National Assembly adopted a Constitution whose first article began: Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation (Hâkimiyet bilâ kaydü şart milletindir). On Oct. 29, 1923, the assembly added another sentence to that same article: The form of government of the Turkish state is the Republic (Türkiye Devletinin şekl-i hükûmeti Cumhuriyettir).
The crisis in Turkey’s Ponzi-style fund industry is heading for deadlock as the government refuses to disclose the 141 people and 73 companies that each made more than 100 million liras in unjust gains despite opposition demands for transparency.
Journalists will take to the streets on Oct. 24 to urge the government to end the detentions, arrests, blockages, access bans and all kinds of pressure on media members as the crackdown escalated after the liquidation of investment funds.
Several weeks have passed since the fund scandal broke, but no official responsible has been arrested or fired. One investigation permit has been granted for a former official, while the government is in a hurry to complete the legal steps that would put an end to the scandal.
At Ankara Bar Association No. 2, President Gökhan Ağdemir withdrew his candidacy for reelection after boasting that his bar had helped 70 of its members become judges and prosecutors. At Istanbul Bar Association No. 2, the candidate backed by AKP and MHP groups lost the presidency by six votes.
The ruling party has rapidly rolled out compensation for some victims of the stock market scandal that is rocking the government, and cut ties with one former minister, while the main opposition Yeni Party links two sitting ministers to the affair.
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 government is seeking to create the impression that it is cutting ties with those involved in the stock market scandal and has launched an investigation, announcing that up to a million liras of losses will be repaid to investors soon. But the opposition calls it the 'corruption of the century' and is seeking a parliamentary inquiry.
The government is preparing comprehensive reforms across its financial regulatory bodies following the massive investment fund crisis that shook domestic markets.
The government has officially ended its sliding scale tax mechanism on fuel, triggering an immediate price hike at the pump.