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Deferred counting of ballot boxes from Istanbul, Ankara and big cities in May 2023 where Kilicdaroglu of the Republican party draws major support. Both Istanbul and Ankara have mayors from the Republican party of Kemal Ataturk who founded the party in 1921 in Ankara to resist the colonial powers but adopted the European model in education and in the constitution, dress, way of life similar to Japan's conversion in the Meiji period of 1871.

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Turkish identity is changing as Erdogan pushes through changes in Turkey that replace the secular character established by Kemal Ataturk with his own brand of Ottoman identity. Erdogan appeals to the pious Muslims from the lower classes in Turkey who were ignored earlier, and to people who trust him in the middle class for preserving economic gains. By increasing tension with Kurds and other people in society Erdogan has increased the divisions in Turkish society. It is not clear what will take the place of the secular society and the gains made by it in modernization of Turkey now that the whole region is engulfed by conflict, and Turkey also faces a refugee crisis at its borders with Iraq and Syria.

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FR24 talks with younger Turks who never voted before as Turkey gets ready to vote on May 14th 2023.

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One of the problems facing the Republican People's Party, the CHP, is how to connect with religious voters. CHP is the party that is most closely associated with modern Turkey's founder, Kemal Ataturk. CHP was the main party in Turkey till the recent dominance of the AKP Party in elections. AKP drew support from the more religious and rural population in the parts of Turkey outside cities such as Ankara and Istanbul. CHP rarely identified itself with street protest and remained aloof from ordinary people making it hard for it to contest elections against the AKP - winning Ankara and Istanbul but losing the elections in the last decade. The AKP also allied itself with Turkey's Ottoman heritage and appealed to nationalist sentiment against a conservative aloof CHP leading to a split in Turkey between the secular urban and the religious minded more rural people. CHP also did not work with minorities such as the Kurds to build a broader coalition. This is changing with the march from Ankara to Istanbul led by CHP leader Kilicdaroglu. The march came after the justice system appeared to be allied with president Erdogan, and a 25 year sentence was given to one of Kilicdaroglu's deputies. Erdogan now appoints the judges in the judiciary and the crackdown on the opposition since the failed coup of 2016, has led to a sense that Turkey is now run as a one party state. An estimated 1.5 million Turks participated in the rally in Istanbul, according to DW, showing that the opposition is forming to the arbitrary rule since the emergency powers assumed by the president. For the last decade Erdogan and the AKP Party formed the government. What changed since 2016 is the new constitution that gives new powers to the president and the arbitrary rule since the crackdown on the opposition that intensified after 2014, and which has increased since the failed coup in 2016.  ...

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This piece in the BBC describes the situation for Turkish military officers who fled by helicopter to Greece following the coup attempt. Greece finds the situation complicated by Erdogan's decision to bring back the death penalty, as this is opposed by the EU and poses questions in international law.

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This NYT report by Patrick Kingsley shows how the hopes for peace with Kurds in Turkey under the Erdogan government have faded. By 2015 peace talks faltered with Kurdish separatist groups. Kingsley's report shows towns such as Sirnak and Cizre in the southeastern part of Turkey are now ghost towns after government troops and tanks moved in. This means that Turkey not only has about 3 million refugees from Syria and Iraq fleeing the war there, but also large numbers of refugees in Kurdish areas inside Turkey. Added to this are the tensions between the party of prime minister Erdogan and the opposition, following a crackdown and as the referendum for granting new powers to the presidency under Mr. Erdogan approaches.

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The corruption inquiry in Turkey in 2013 on prime minister Erdogan and the AKP's ties to the construction industry. The rift between sufi preacher Fethullah Gulen, and the prime minister of Turkey, over policies that steer Turkey away from the west and the concentration of power in the AKP. Huseyn Gulerce, who is close to Gulen, says Gulen is critical of Turkey's drifting away from seeking membership of the European Union and not conducting democratic changes. Gulen and Erdogan worked together to bring the AKP to power in elections and reduce the military's influence in politics and government. Gulen left Turkey in 1999 after being accused of trying to turn Turkey into a Islamic state and has settled in Pennsylvania, U.S.. Erdogan is a one time Mayor of Istanbul, and critics say the construction industry business interests and Erdogan have ignored zoning laws to move ahead with haphazard development of the city pushing out old time residents. This was also a complaint of protesters in the summer 2013 protests in Taksim Square, Istanbul....

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In the March 29, 2009, local elections in Turkey the AK party led by Mr Erdogan got only 39% of the vote down from the 47% it obtained in the 2007 general elections. Unemployment is 13.6% and the Turkish currency's value dropped, and GDP is declining. Mr Erdogan's claims that the global meltdown had not touched Turkey irked voters, and other local issues and parties also resulted in a loss of support. Erdogan is seen as aloof and losing touch with the people compared to the years when AK was on the rise.

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Erdogan's grip on Turkish politcs loosens as he loses in both Ankara and Istanbul. Since Erdogan started out as Mayor of Istanbul in 1994, as a young politician with nationalist credentials, this is seen as a significant shift. A younger leader Mr. Imamoglu is now seen as new Mayor of Istanbul.

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The mosque project of the first Islamist prime minister in the 1990's, Necmettin Erbakan, was seen by the secularists in Turkey as an effort to rewrite Turkey's history as a Republic. During that effort current prime minister Erdogan headed a local commission in charge of the project. Erdogan was Mayor of Istanbul. That project failed because of opposition from the military. As the current prime minister, Erdogan is making another effort to build a mosque in Taksim Square, Istanbul. Architect Ahmet Vefik Alp designed a modern mosque using materials, concepts and designs that reflect the twentieth century for Taksim Square. Erdogan has rejected this design and has promoted a design based on the Ottoman period architecture. The street protests in Turkish cities reflect this continuing struggle between the Islamists and secularists and the kind of Turkey each group wants to see.

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As a crisis develops on the Turkey Greece borders with migrants Mr. Erdogan orders the coast guard to prevent crossings into the Aegean Sea to Greece. In an effort to prevent the repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis and refugees crossing in boats the European Union has acted to support Greece in its actions to stop migrants.

Another development is that the migrants are now mostly economic refugees from Afghanistan to Turkey, according to DW.com. Syrian refugees to Turkey are better integrated into Turkish society and have preferred to stay in Turkey, according to reports.

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The trial of Turkey's military officers, politicians and journalists, for an attempted military coup in Turkey under the elected Erdogan government.

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Pipes describes the failure of the opposition to offer constructive ideas and frame itself as an alternative to the AKP and prime minister Erdogan. Turkey's moves towards its historic role in the Middle East under the Ottoman Empire 1300-1923 championing Muslim interests, as opposed to the secular position taken by Ataturk and the modernizing of Turkey under post Ataturk governments.

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Efforts by the government of prime minister Erdogan to keep Turkey's interest rates at the same rate as inflation, with an effective real interest rate of zero. Erdogan strikes out at what he calls the "higher interest rate lobby." Erdogan's party fears a downturn in the Turkish economy could affect the government's referendum on a new constitution. The IMF sees a high credit growth to GDP ratio as a warning light for countries and Turkey is identified as one of the main countries facing this problem.

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Exhibitions in Istanbul from the period 1970-1980 and the violent activity from protest groups and others during that period. Lingering effects today with crackdown on journalists by the Erdogan government and polarization of public opinion.

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A copy of the letter Mr. Trump sent to Mr. Erdogan of Turkey telling him " don't be a tough guy... don't be a fool," to invade the Kurdish zone in Syria. He says history will judge him, that he should "not let the world down." 

Turkey sent forces into the Kurdish zone even after the letter from Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump said that it was a bad idea getting involved in the Middle East that trillions of dollars had been wasted. He made exceptions for keeping the Straits of Hormuz open and flow of oil from a commercial standpoint in providing assistance to Saudi Arabia and Aramco, something the U.S. has done since FDR administration.

It also says Mr. Trump has worked hard to help Turkey. And admonishes Erdogan saying "I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy- and I will."