good things happened today by christopher atwood

“We’re going to let the Turkish people make their decision,” he said during a Friday news conference, adding “we obviously want to see free and fair elections.”Ī senior U.S. “Either the autocrats will win and the democracy side will disappear while he’s on the scene, or he’ll lose, and Turkey will revert back to democracy completely.”Īsked about the election, National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY wouldn’t say if the administration feared Erdoğan was taking steps to rig the vote in his favor. “If Erdoğan wins, he’s going to stay at Turkey’s helm as its sultan,” said SONER CAGAPTAY, director of the Turkish research program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The stakes couldn’t be higher for the NATO ally. It’s highly likely that neither candidate will get more than 50 percent of the vote, which means the contest could be pushed into a second-round runoff on May 28. But in the other corner is opposition leader KEMAL KILIÇDAROĞLU, who as it stand is posing the greatest challenge yet to Erdoğan’s 20-year rule.

In one corner is RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN, the longtime strongman who could solidify his autocratic rule over the country with a win. Turkey heads to the polls Sunday for what could be one of the most consequential elections in the country’s history - and the results will have an immense impact on the world. With help from Matt Berg, Maggie Miller and Daniel Lippman In effect, Turkey’s foreign policy will be whatever Erdoğan wants it to be. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would keep Turkey’s government running under the executive presidential system he ushered in six years ago, granting him broad powers over agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Good things happened today by christopher atwood