prof. Dr. Ercilasun said that Sinan Ogan should make an invitation for Kılıçdaroğlu: One cannot be a nationalist who thinks like an AKP member.

• “ Erdogan has charges of separatism and terrorism against Kılıçdaroğlu. The performer of all of them is himself. Negotiations in Oslo, Habur, Ergenekon and Sledgehammer operations, the solution process, cooperation with FETO were in front of the nation.”

prof. Dr. Ahmet Bican ErcilasunHe answered the questions of the Republic.

• What should Sinan Ogan call those who voted for him for the second round?

Sinan Ogan must make a statement in favor of the Nation Alliance for Kılıçdraoğlu to win.

• From where?

• Will Sinan Ogan’s call have any effect on those who voted for him?

Whether there is a call or not, that 5 percent has decided where to vote. I don’t think they will act according to Ogan’s call. But Ogan’s call motivates more than 5 percent of CHP voters.

• AKP says it is local and national. What do you think was the biggest concession to the contrary?

He opened the TRT Kurdi channel during his opening policy. This is the biggest compromise. By opening a channel on TRT, you are bringing different dialects and dialects into a single literary language. It means creating a nation.

(Ahmet Bican Ercilasun)

‘GENERAL DANGER DIVISORY’

• What is the danger of this?

We call it terrorism, but it is necessary to call the danger separatism rather than terrorism. It’s not random terrorism. Those who carry out terrorism do not hide that they want to establish a separate state in a region of our country. We used to try to find evidence, but they no longer hide it either. So the real danger is divisiveness. With terrorism, they can do it in another way. One of them is that a channel was opened for them on TRT. The AKP government itself has tried to create a nation other than Turks.

• However, voters believed Erdogan’s accusations despite everything, why couldn’t the Nation Alliance convince the nationalists?

They perceive traditions arising from the wrong perception of religion as nationalism. In other words, a person who thinks like an AKP member cannot be a nationalist. They didn’t vote because they were worried. They were worried that Kemal Bey met with the HDP, did not make clear statements against separatism, and that some people within and close to the party would take an almost HDP-like stance or rhetoric. I personally have no doubts about Mr. Kemal. Kemal Bey needs to make statements that will remove these concerns. Then the votes of people who consider themselves nationalists will come. In fact, the CHP will not have done anything outside of its own philosophy. After all, the CHP, founded by Atatürk, is nationalist.

• So, will Kemal Bey’s emphasis on nationalism for the second round have an impact on the electorate?

It has an impact on nationalists and Kemalists. In fact, the establishment of the CHP is based on nationalism. In other words, the CHP founded by Atatürk was a nationalist party. Atatürk’s basic philosophy is nationalism and modernity. All six arrows are actually for nationalism. Contemporary is also for nationalism. Because the goal is to raise the Turkish nation above the level of contemporary nations. This means raising the nation.

PROF. DR. WHO IS AHMET BICAN ERCILASUN?

He was born in 1943 in Izmir. I. U. He graduated from the Faculty of Literature, Department of Turkish Language and Literature. He entered Atatürk University Faculty of Arts and Sciences as a Turkish Language Assistant. He received the title of “doctor” with his thesis named Kars Province Dialects-Sounds. He was promoted to associate professor in 1979 and professor in 1986. He served as the director of the Gazi University Press and Broadcasting School, the Head of the Department of Contemporary Turkish Dialects and Literatures, and the President of the Turkish Language Institution. He was the general secretary of the Turkish Culture Research Institute.

‘NO OBSTACLES TO STABILITY’

• “ The perception of the state and survival is very strong in Turkey. Mr. Erdogan managed to lure the voters to his side with fear and anxiety. At least it prevented the votes from falling further, while contributing to the high votes in the presidential elections.”

Political scientist Prof. Dr. Tanju TosunHe answered the questions of the Republic.

• Did the economic distress experienced in the first round of the election have the expected effect?

Economic voting behavior shows its effect more or less. The AKP’s 7-point loss of votes across the country and Kılıçdaroğlu’s higher average vote in big cities give the impression that they lost some votes, but it is not enough to attribute this loss of votes to economic factors in Turkey. Because, despite everything, voter preferences do not change easily. Nationalist conservative values ​​that dominate politics in Turkey make it difficult for voters to vote as rational individuals at the ballot box. Therefore, it makes a choice at the ballot box based on values ​​rather than problems.

• Kemal Bey received higher votes in big cities. Has the economy been more effective in big cities?

When we associate this with economic dynamics, the effects of the economic crisis experienced by individuals in big cities are felt much faster and deeper, while in small settlements, solidarity relations, especially resource distribution and social aids established between the party and the electorate, absorb the feeling of this economic crisis to some extent.

(Tanju Tosun)

‘INCREASE IS EFFECTIVE IN SMALL CITIES’

• Are the increases in the minimum wage and pensions more decisive in small cities?

The cost of living in small cities is relatively cheaper than in big cities. Therefore, the effect of the increase in the minimum wage and pensions is much more positive, while the purchasing power in big cities is not enough despite the increase in salaries. In general, the language of the campaign is also effective. On the one hand, there is stability, survivability, and positioning the opposition on the same side with terrorist organizations.

• Was this discourse effective enough to change the outcome of the election?

I think this is one of the main determining factors. The perception of the state and survivability is very strong in the social and political culture in Turkey. AKP, Mr. Erdogan has succeeded in attracting the voters with fear and anxiety through this discussion of survival. At least, I think that while preventing the votes from falling further, on the other hand, it contributed to the high votes in the presidential elections.

• Why couldn’t the opposition resist this rhetoric?

I think there are two photos in order to understand the socio-psychology of the voters and to evaluate what their economic expectations are. A photograph of Erdogan in a pilot suit in front of a local and national helicopter and a warship on one side.

• What does this symbolize?

It creates a perception that makes itself strong in the international arena. “We are with our tank and our rifle. We are in a place to compete with the West” perception, which is a West perception that wants to “divide” Turkey in quotation marks.

• Other photo?

Videos of Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu addressing the public while drinking tea in his kitchen. There may be voters who sympathize with drinking tea in Western society, but voters in Turkey; He established an identity between the fear, anxiety, survivability conveyed and that photograph in terms of its realization potential.

• The number of AKP’s deputies has decreased, but it is still in the majority. The government puts the rhetoric of “stability” forward. Will this arithmetic in the parliament have an effect on the electorate?

The parliament does not have a serious function in the current government system, there is a bypassed parliament. In other words, the one who wins the Presidency governs the country, but how? Democratic, deliberative and consensual, and the president will exercise his powers. This is not an obstacle or a problem. Because the president is constitutionally very powerful in the new system. This is how stability works. Instability does not occur. This message should be given to the voter.

PROF. DR. WHO IS TANJU TOSUN?

He was born in 1965 in Bursa. He completed his secondary and high school education in Bursa Anatolian High School and his undergraduate education in Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Public Administration. He did his master’s and doctorate in political science. He worked at Dokuz Eylül and Ege Universities between 1989-2020. As a retired independent academic and author of PolitikYol, he continues his academic studies in the fields of Turkish political life, comparative politics, voting behavior, and election analysis.