INSIGHT Elections in second half of 2015 - Turkey

Written by Admin 2 04 Jun 2015
INSIGHT Elections in second half of 2015 - Turkey

Turkish voters go to the polls on Sunday amid concerns around slowing economic growth and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's autocratic policies. The election could also be momentous for modern Turkish history, as four candidates come from Turkey’s minority groups, including the resurgent Kurds who have been discriminated against for years. Erdogan's AK Party is also fielding an Armenian Christian candidate, Markar Esayan, in hopes of courting the Christian vote in Istanbul. In Turkey there are no Armenian officials, police or judges. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest national church and one of the most ancient Christian communities, claiming to have originated in the missions of apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century. Underscoring some of the tensions surrounding Turkey's minority community, hundreds of people took to Istanbul's streets in May protesting against the seizure of a one-hundred-year-old Armenian orphanage. For up to date INSIGHTS behind elections due to be held across the nations between now and 2016, click the ‘more’ button below.

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