Erdoğan; A Dictatorship Through the Ballot Box Author: Gouya Roshan


Erdoğan; A Dictatorship Through the Ballot Box

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is no longer just a president; he has become a symbol of the concentration of power in Turkey. Many Turkish citizens, especially a large part of the political opposition, journalists, academics, civil rights activists, and artists, consider him a figure with authoritarian tendencies, even a dictator. On the other hand, there is still a small group of Turks who see him as a successful statesman. However, what matters is not only his actions, but also his slogans.

Dictatorship does not only mean the absence of elections; it begins when elections can no longer control power. When critical media outlets are silenced, journalists are imprisoned, opposition figures are put on trial, and the judiciary loses its independence, one can no longer speak of democracy simply because elections are held.

Years ago, Erdoğan came to power with promises of freedom, reform, and justice, but gradually concentrated power in his own hands. Today, many institutions that were supposed to oversee the government have become influenced by political power. This is the same path that many authoritarian governments around the world have followed.

In my opinion, a true leader is someone who can tolerate hearing the voices of opponents. Someone who is not afraid of journalists, university professors, or critical politicians. Because when a government fears the pen, ideas, and criticism, it is not a sign of strength; it is a sign of fear.

A politician who considers himself above the law and the people should not remain in power. Because power is a trust given by the people, not the personal property of one individual. Whenever a leader believes that his survival is equal to the survival of the country, it is a sign that the country’s democracy is in danger.

For this reason, in the eyes of many Turkish citizens, Erdoğan is no longer just a president; he has become a figure who displays the characteristics of a dictator rather than those of a democratic leader.

History does not judge through government propaganda; it judges through freedom, justice, and respect for human rights. No power, no matter how old or established, can escape this judgment forever.

Unfortunately, Erdoğan’s behavior and style of governance have created the perception that he considers Turkey his personal property or ancestral inheritance. In a democratic system, no politician owns a country; they are only responsible for managing it through the votes of the people for a limited period of time. But when a ruler remains in power for many years, changes laws to benefit himself, suppresses critics, and views every form of opposition as a threat to the state, the question arises: Does he still see himself as a servant of the people or as the owner of the country?

The ironic point is that Erdoğan has acted for years as if Turkey cannot be governed without him. This is a mindset that many dictators throughout history have displayed: a mindset in which the state is equated with the ruler, and any criticism of the government is portrayed as an attack against the people.

Turkey does not belong to Erdoğan; it belongs to more than eighty million Turkish citizens with a wide range of beliefs, ideas, and perspectives. No president or prime minister has the right to behave as if the future of a nation depends on his presence. Power is a temporary trust placed in the hands of an individual, not a family inheritance. And Erdoğan is no exception to this rule


 

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