​Opposition Front: 2nd declaration for democracy leaves a lot to be desired

TURKEY - In Brief 31 May 2022 by Atilla Yesilada

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The leaders of six parties constituting the Nation Alliance gathered a fourth time on 29 May, in a meeting that lasted over 7 hours. The end-result was a second declaration for restoring democracy in Turkey. While the declaration is a reasonable and thoughtful road map for re-democratization, it also highlights the lack of progress since the 28 February declaration in terms of uniting around common principles to form a coalition. The leaders will issue two more reports on ballot security and rehabilitation of economic institutions in June. Press commentary from opposition ranks is largely negative, though a detailed analysis of statements from party spokespeople and politics experts suggest there is more than meets the eye in terms of progress towards a coalition protocol. Alas, the Nation Alliance may not have the luxury of time, as chatter concerning early elections on 6 November increase. I don’t bother to analyze the second declaration for re-democratization, “or road map to transitioning to a strengthened parliamentary system”, because it merely complements and expands upon the general principles agreed upon on 28 February declaration. The link to the English version is here. The road map to restore democracy is well- thought-out, doable and sufficient to get Turkey back to 2008-2012, when democratic reforms stalled and then went into decline. The alliance will unveil its plans to keep the ballot safe on 6 June, and another plan for rehabilitating economic institutions on 13th. It appears that leaders are aware of the need for haste. Yet, none of these announcements is expected to generate significant interest among voters, who are probably looking for bite size m...