Turkish opposition fails to notice the thin line of politics

 Turkish citizens are working to recover from the twin earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023. Nonetheless, the 2018 elections are in the opposition parties' sights.

In response to President Recep Tayyip Erdoan's promise to "rebuild all homes within one year," the opposition started a public campaign opposing the delay of the election.

In actuality, there was no connection between what Erdoan said and delaying the election during the rescue efforts. Notwithstanding this, the leaders of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the Good Party (IP), the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), and the Future Party (GP) freely participated in the discussion.

We are concentrating on saving lives from the wreckage (and) healing everyone's wounds," said AK Party spokesperson mer elik in response to a question about the approaching elections, indicating that the government's top priority was to deal with the earthquake's aftermath. In fact, Erdoan is anticipated to closely watch the recovery of Turkey's disaster-stricken cities.

Disaster recovery management

When it comes to managing the aftermath of a calamity, the nation is up against it. In winter conditions, it is important to attend to the population's urgent needs, such as housing, personal cleanliness, functional infrastructure, and psychological support. The development of permanent housing units will mark the end of the normalisation process, which will unavoidably take place more than a year before the next election. The leaders of the opposition now believe that the government would like to delay the election so that the economy might fully recover by then. The opposition, who has already made a number of mistakes since the twin earthquakes, makes more as a result of that assumption. They continue to discuss the time of the election rather than addressing people's wounds through their various localities and outlining what needs to be done.

CHP Chairwoman Kemal Klçdarolu made the following declaration just two days after the deadly earthquakes, when search and rescue efforts were still in progress: "I refuse to look at what happened from above politics or side with the administration. I won't go up against Erdoan, his palace, or the gangs of landowners on any level. Even some of his followers objected to his comments, saying they went against the post-earthquake solidarity attitude.

the time of elections

Another crucial aspect is when the next elections in Turkey will take place. I think the elections will go on schedule despite what the opposition leaders have declared. But, the Supreme Electoral Board would need to act quickly to allow voters in all 11 provinces hit by the earthquakes to cast their ballots. The entire political establishment could cooperate for that goal, if necessary.

The opposition is still in a state of shock. They specifically lack the necessary knowledge to deal with the "crisis of the century" that occurred during the 2023 election season. They then resorted to the accusation of "one-man rule," saying that Erdoan was responsible for the "disaster of the century" for Turkey.

political failure

The opposition doesn't seem to understand how to distinguish between constructive criticism of the government's response to disasters and destructive behaviour. The remaining opposition figures advocated delaying the election, and Klçdarolu asserted that the earthquakes were not "beyond politics." In the end, both declarations were detrimental to the opposition. The opposition leaders are more preoccupied with the election while the government concentrates on treating the wounds of the impacted community. They also make partisan accusations at the same time, which is a holdover from the period before the earthquakes. For some reason, the opposition leaders don't seem to understand that by making such divisive statements, they stop standing for something other than the ruling party. In contrast, the government is under no obligation to react to that. It's sufficient for the ruling party.

By constructing its post-disaster platform with a vocabulary and mindset that before the earthquakes, the opposition makes the mistake of playing politics and destabilises itself.