What should be done as the elections approach?

What should be done as the elections approach?

Let us start with a question;

Who won the May 28, 2023 Presidential election?

- Individually, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

- Religious communities influential in state administration

- Countries that will benefit from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan being President.

Who lost the May 28, 2023 Presidential election?

- AK PARTY

- All opposition parties

- All non-governmental organizations

- All mass organizations

- All professional organizations

- All unions, etc.

A vast majority of society lost, and the trauma of that loss continues.

The AK PARTY lost because it has regressed to its lowest vote share since the day it was founded.

We can easily see this by looking at the vote percentages it received.

2002-Parliamentary election 37.6

2004-Local election 45.3

2007-Parliamentary election 45.2

2009-Local election 44.7

2011-Parliamentary election 49.4

2014-Local election 48.0

2015-June-Parliamentary election 41.1

2015-November-Parliamentary election 48.9

2018-Parliamentary election 42.7

2019-Local election 48.6

2023-Parliamentary election 35.6

The ratios are clear.. The AK PARTY has regressed to a level of voter support below that of its founding day.

In other words, it should be counted in the losers' club in the election. It has been unsuccessful as a party.

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When we look at the common point of all other losers, we see this: despite the fact that the party that has been in power for 21 years has seen its voter support drop to 35%, they could not win the Presidency 'against one person'.

All segments and all stakeholders opposed to the AK PARTY and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are parties to this loss. Because they could not meet on a common ground and form a political alliance.

Who bears the responsibility or blame for the failure to achieve this unity, and to what extent, is a secondary matter.

The reality is that the election was lost against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Moreover, it was an election that could have been won.

The reason for this loss is all the opposition components that did not believe in political mathematics and did not do what was necessary.

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So, what should be done today, with local elections only months away?

Instead of looking for who is to blame, or finding one or a few scapegoats to silence consciences, it is necessary to conduct an analysis using scientific data.

This analysis should start from June 2018 and cover all processes up to the present day.

Experts should conduct the analysis based on objective and scientific criteria.

Political parties, NGOs, professional organizations, and all such structures should, of course, discuss the election process and the result from their own concepts and perspectives.

To benefit from these discussions, reliable data must first be accessed.

If we continue on the path with incorrect data and emotional inferences as we do today, the result of the next election will not be a surprise either.

The opposition components have not discussed the past election and have not drawn the necessary lessons.

You cannot know without researching and discussing, and you cannot change anything without knowing…

Erdal Akaltun

President of BUPAR Research

News Source: 12punto