Ballot box victory in an illiberal democracy

Begüm Burak

In a 1997 article titled “Democracy with Adjectives: Conceptual Innovation in Comparative Research,” David Collier and Steven Levistky wrote about “diminished sub-types of democracy.”

Diminished subtypes represent an incomplete form of democracy, the authors argue, because they could be seen to have fewer defining attributes. For instance, illiberal democracy can be considered a diminished subtype of democracy as it does not include one of the main attributes of democracy -- the protection of civil liberties. In this sense, Turkey can be viewed as an illiberal democracy, having only procedural elements of democracy such as free and fair elections. However, it is reasonable to state that even the fairness of elections can be questioned in the aftermath of the March 30 local elections.

Before the local elections, and indeed in the aftermath of the Dec. 17 corruption and graft scandal, polarizing rhetorical devices and hate speech have been dominating the political discourse of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. The AK Party spokespeople, along with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have continually demonized the Hizmet movement and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen since Dec. 17. The government has labelled Hizmet an illegal organization -- a “parallel state” -- aimed at destroying the AK Party and its vision of a “new” Turkey. Erdoğan has called this process a second War of Independence, employing nationalist and religious rhetoric in order to appeal to the masses. The result of the local elections has showed that he has been successful in this attempt.

As is widely known, the Dec. 17 scandal stimulated the authoritarian tendencies of the government. For an important segment of society, the AK Party government has adhered to autocracy and oppressive state policies to cover up the corruption scandal. The AK Party government has put pressure on the media along with promoting censorship. The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has been used as a government tool to punish critical media. The “pool media,” whose financial health is dependent on the government, has engaged in smear campaign against Hizmet since Dec. 17. The pressure exercised on the media as well as on critical intellectuals did not change voter behavior in the March 30 local elections. The AK Party is victorious once again.

The principle of the rule of law has suffered a serious blow after the restructure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). The separation of powers has also received a serious blow, in addition to the weakening of civil liberties. The ban on hugely popular web sites like Twitter and YouTube has caused reactions all over Turkey. The image of Turkey has worsened day by day in the eyes of the European Union and many European observers.

The people who were arrested within the framework of the Kurdistan Communities' Union (KCK) and Ergenekon cases have been released. The prime minister once claimed that these cases were important for eliminating military tutelage in Turkish politics. The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) law has been renewed and now gives increased authority to MİT members and is seen as an audacious attempt to turn Turkey into a more illiberal state.

The local elections have just passed in the shadows of the above-stated events. The AK Party, with strong media support from the “pool media,” had a “lively” election campaign in which the political opposition, critical journalists and the Hizmet movement were targeted.

The AK Party received nearly half of all votes, but contrary to claims by pro-government writers and journalists, the ballot box cannot be used as a tool to hide corruption and graft. No matter how many votes the AK Party has won, the prestige of the party has been tarnished. As far as I can see, this blow will be apparent in the long run. That is one of the reasons why the AK Party has romped to victory once again.

In brief, it could be said that what Turkey witnessed on Sunday is just a ballot box victory in an illiberal democracy. With all opposing voices silenced, political monism been advocated by the media, freedom of speech is under serious threat. The election result paints a bleak picture for democracy in the upcoming days as long as Erdoğan does not abandon his polarizing discourse and attitude towards the actors who have not been by his side since Dec. 17.

Published on Today's Zaman, 02 April 2014, Wednesday