What does a mayoral re-vote do for Turkish democracy?

Podcasts

TURKEY-POLITICS-COUPA handout photo released by the Turkish Presidential Press Service shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivering a speech during the opening ceremony of the ‘July 15 Martyrs’ Monument’ at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on July 16, 2017, as part of the events held to mark one year since the July 15 defeat of the failed coup bid. (AFP PHOTO / TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / MURAT CETIN MUHURDAR)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fighting back against accusations of election meddling and corruption, insisting that a decision by the country’s top electoral body to nullify the results of a March 31 vote for Istanbul mayor — which the opposition narrowly won — will only strengthen democracy.

A re-run of the vote takes place June 23rd, and critics are calling the decision outrageous, a desperate attempt to eliminate dissent against Erdogan’s AKP-led government.

On today’s episode of The Heat Podcast, host Anand Naidoo talks with Aykan Erdemir, former member of the Turkish parliament and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.