LyrArc Article Gist
Early elections in Turkey for parliament and the presidency called by president Erdogan are giving the opposition a chance. The economic growth during the early Erdogan years is beginning to fade with Turkey's rising debt levels, companies with large debt repayment, and the loss of half the value of Turkish currency Lira since 2014.  Muharram Ince of the Republican People's Party, CHP, is able to connect to religious voters from his secular base. The CHP has allied itself with the Islamist SP Party, and the nationalist party Iyi led by Meral Aksener. This alliance is now poised to challenge Mr. Erdogan in the coming election with a different combination of forces loosening Mr. Erdogan's grip on Islamist voters and nationalist voters, by bringing together the nationalist, secular and Islamist in a new way. The focus of this alliance is not dividing the country between Islamist and secular as in recent elections, but more along the lines of keeping some of the basic elements of democracy eroded in Mr. Erdogan's efforts to setup what the opposition leader Mr. Ince calls a "one man regime." As in Malaysia's recent election corruption is also an issue raised by the opposition. ...