If Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wins Turkey’s run-off election on Sunday, his victory will be due in part to the strong support network he built during his two decades in power .
From the Justice and Development Party (AKP), established in 2001, there has emerged a vast system of influence, support and state generosity on which many in the country depend – fears could will end.
“A large proportion of voters . . . think they depend on the AKP staying in power to continue to benefit from the country,” said Murat Sommer, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Koč University. “People in precarious situations think their relationship with the country depends on having a good relationship with the AKP. They depend on the AKP.”
Erdogan used his vast “grassroots” network to secure a first-round lead on May 14 and beat his opposition opponent, Kemal Kilezdarog, in Sunday’s run-off vote Lu, became the most promising candidate.
Critics, however, insist the playing field has long favored Erdogan, with the 69-year-old president deploying a range of state resources during the campaign and government-affiliated media closely following his and the AKP’s narrative.
Erdogan’s government has distributed a lot of supplies across the country ahead of the election, including free petrol, discounted electricity and 10GB of free internet for students. Raising the minimum wage and public servant wages ahead of the vote could also benefit the president.
The giveaways are meant to offset the gloomy economic outlook for the country of 85 million people. Soaring prices and the lira, which fell to new lows on Friday, are eroding the purchasing power of ordinary voters.
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The powerful network he and his party built extends into the corporate arena. The manager of a Turkish industrial group based in the AKP stronghold said he would not accept a job at a company linked to Erdogan’s government because of the conditions attached to the contract.
“They’re not just thinking about the job, they’re thinking about something different,” said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He described a circular system in which people pay for the privilege of working with state-aligned companies and expect kickbacks in return.
Arda Can Kumbaracıbaşı, a political science professor at Bahcesehir University who has studied the rise of the AKP, added that “the government only gives offers and opportunities to groups that are close to them.” .
For many in Turkey, the nation’s achievements are inseparable from Erdogan himself. Kemal, a 37-year-old barber in Istanbul, said: “In the past 20 years, life has improved significantly, thanks to Tayyip. Before he came, our country was a mess. Now everyone enjoys a higher standard of living. standard of living.”
He continued: “Traffic in this country used to be a nightmare and now we have an airport in every province. Who did this? Taiyip did it. . . If anyone can solve this economic problem, it is Tayyip.”
Erdogan has managed to maintain support among his main conservative and devout supporters, partly because many believe their fate is tied to his, but also because of the sheer size of the Islamic-rooted AKP, which has sprawled across the country. offices in towns and cities.
The AKP and its ultra-nationalist partners maintained their parliamentary majority in May 14 elections, with more than 11 million members, according to Turkey’s Supreme Court. The CHP, led by Kılıçdaroğlu, who leads the country’s six-party opposition coalition, could only muster 1.4 million seats.
“AKP has successfully built on electoral strongholds and grassroots party organizations dating back to the 1970s,” Kumbaracıbaşı said. “Thus, the sponsorship network certainly helps the AKP maintain its supporter base.”
“Many relatives of AKP members also hold senior positions in the executive branch, NGOs, universities and municipalities,” he added.
Harun Armagan, a member of the AKP’s central decision-making committee, described the suggestion that party members receive money or other benefits by supporting the party as “opposition propaganda”.
But he agrees the party’s vast reach is the backbone of its success. “We’re a grassroots movement. That’s what we’ve always been very good at, and it’s made us strong.”
The reason, says Armagan, is that the AKP is a powerful electoral machine, which he describes as Turkey’s largest NGO, using its vast network to maintain constant contact with supporters and those who might support the party. “We always listen to people . . . (they) vote for you because we don’t forget them,” he said.
The patronage relationship between Erdogan and Turkish voters has only grown over the years, Koç University’s Somer added, adding that the real and perceived benefits of supporting the AKP extend to government jobs, benefits for the elderly and the poor. Social assistance, disaster relief and business licenses.
Such a broad bottom-up effort goes some way towards explaining why Erdogan is leading in opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s standoff with Kılıçdaroğlu.
“A large percentage of voters . . . feel they depend on the AKP to stay in power to continue receiving the benefits they receive from the state,” Summer said. Turkish voters “feel like they have no choice,” he added.
Additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul