On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we discuss the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey. Last Sunday, tens of millions of Turkish voters went to the polls.
In the first round, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan garnered 49.51 percent of the vote. His main rival, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, came in at 44.88 percent. Since neither candidate hit the 50 percent threshold, a runoff will be held on May 28.
In the lead up to the election, President Erdoğan stepped up his attacks on journalists in a bid to deflect attention from the country's economic and democratic decline and to shore up his political base, according to Reporters without Borders.
What explains the outcome and what is the significance of this election?
Guest:
Adnan Khan, independent journalist based in Turkey
Web Resources:
Globe and Mail: Will Turkey’s elections end the Erdogan era? Maybe, but be careful what you wish for
The New York Times: Whatever Happens Next, Turkey Is in Trouble
Al Jazeera: Turkey’s elections: What are the key alliances promising?
The Financial Times: How Erdoğan beat the odds: Turkey’s election in charts
