BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- In democracies, elections are solutions to crises and by producing new administrations, they lead to new hopes. The nation, which is the owner of the country, doesn't vote for parties which it doesn't like. On the other hand, it votes for parties which it does like and helps them come to power.
Democracy rises. The national will, too, arises. But there are conditions for this: There will be trouble if the election law is bad, disordered, or outdated, and this could lead to tensions and arguments.
We held elections under a terrible election law, and more than four years have passed since then. Neither the government nor the opposition has made any move to reform the law.
It's understandable why the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) acted this way, since it's confident it would get the most votes in general elections, but the stance of other parties is surprising. If trouble arises and they can't get into Parliament (due to the 10% threshold), I will use this column to point out the incompetence of the leaders of those parties.
Voters are always unpredictable. The party of late Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit won the elections in 1995, but got only 2.2% of the vote in fall 2002. If the voters decide that the AKP can't get along with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) could get most of the votes in summer elections. If the nation believes that the AKP is justified, then AKP could win the elections. I know this is a terrifying scenario, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. The AKP winning all 550 seats in Parliament is the most extreme scenario.
Under our democratic regime, the prime minister is responsible for everything. If Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan handles this crisis properly, the nation will recognize his identity as a statesman in the next elections. But if he doesn't, then the nation will show that it doubts Erdogan is a real statesman.