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Qabil Ashirov

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There are only days left until the general elections, which not only the Turkish community, but the regional states, especially Azerbaijan, are waiting for with great interest. It is no secret that many people in Azerbaijan believe that the result of this election will shape the future of not only Turkiye, but also the region.

Speaking to Azernews, Turkish political analyst Göktuğ Çalışkan has commented on the matter and has noted that these elections are quieter than the previous ones in relation to the earthquake, which caused the death of many Turkish citizens and devastation.

“On February 6, 2023, after the great earthquake, many of our people passed away. I wish Allah's mercy on all of them. That is the reason why the parties are not organizing many rallies. They are also trying to be with the people in the quake-hit zone. Therefore, we can say that a different election awaits us compared to the previous ones,” the analyst said.

As for winning or losing the election of the ruling AKP party, Goktug Caliskan pointed out that the rating of AKP has declined since the last election. The winning percentage of AKP and the National Alliance in the election is close to each other, so according to him, the election might be rough-and-tumble.

“In the 2018 elections, the Ak Parti had 295 deputies with 42.56% of the vote. As for now, according to many published polls, Ak Party's vote rate is around 30%, while the MHP is around 11%. According to the surveys, there is a possibility of receiving between 5-8% of the vote in this election. As regards the People's Alliance, it was expanded due to the agreement among new parties. So coming to the upcoiming presidential election polls, there are close percentages between President Erdoğan and the RPP's leader Kılıçdaroğlu, who is the Presidential candidate of the National Alliance. I assume the votes for both parties will be almost on a par. However, I think that the remaining period of approximately 1 month until the election could be very important and changing factor in this process,” he opined.

It is of note that the result of the election is believed to shape the region, especially in the Karabakh conflict, and the Azerbaijani community is interested in the election more than before. As the Turkish pundit, he is more hopeful that the results will not alter the Turkish foreign policy in the Karabakh Conflict.

“I do not think that the outcome of the election will have a negative impact on the Karabakh issue, because this issue is of priority for Turkiye and I think that whichever candidate wins, it can continue in a similar way. Therefore, I would like to express that no matter which candidate wins, the support for brotherly Azerbaijan and Karabakh will continue,” Calishkan added.

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