Elections were held first on May 14, 2023 and then on May 28, 2023.
The elections are both parliamentary elections and presidential (or presidential similar to a form of presidency) elections.
The elections went to a second round and in the second round, Erdoğan won with 52%. Kılıçdaroğlu remained in the “we are here” zone with 48%.
Those who lost as political rivals accepted the election results with “great maturity” as “the decision of the people,” while Erdoğan, who was elected for the third time, signaled that he would continue on his way with his usual attitude, with the pride and arrogance of being “elected” by his masters.
So what has changed?
Let’s first clarify the process.
ONE STATE PARTY
Since September 12 [1], the Turkish state has only one party, all parties are one and the same party, the “state party.”
The imperialist centers that are at war with each other, such as Germany, France, Britain, the United States and Israel as an active power together with them, organize themselves in these parties, in the most important ones, each of which is a state party. At times, this may lead one to wonder if there is more than one party. But in fact, when the masters agree, in accordance with the NATO mechanisms, all the bourgeois parties unquestionably reveal that they are one party.
Baykal [2], for example, acted according to this in his relations with Erdoğan.
They do what the masters say.
For a more practical example, all four candidates in the presidential election are connected to the MİT (National Intelligence Agency of Turkey – t.n.). Yes, each of them has different duties. But in the end they are connected to the same place. Erdoğan entered university as an informer, didn’t even continue his studies and didn’t even finish school. Oğan’s (one of the candidates for presidential elections – t.n.) MİT connections are often talked about. As for İnce (one of the candidates for presidential elections – t.n.) and Kılıçdaroğlu, five years ago, before İnce had even said “the man won” [3], Yalçın Küçük [4] said that they were both members of the MİT. There is no reason to consider Yalçın Küçük’s information wrong. That is to say, there were four candidates running, all four of whom were the same. For example, Oğan not only supported Erdoğan in exchange for money and position, but when it was announced that Erdoğan had won the election, he said, “Atatürkists have won”. And all four of them fulfilled the task they were assigned.
Each of them emphasized nationalism, each of them acted as if there was democracy in the country, as if the elections were “normal” elections. No doubt Kılıçdaroğlu played a bigger role in this. After all, working for the state is more important than winning elections, was he going to act on his “ego”?
Moreover, the same issue applies to party presidents to a certain extent. For example, Soylu called Ümit Özdağ an “intelligence officer.” Of course, nothing Soylu says is acceptable. But then again, even a broken clock can be right twice a day, no matter what. Davutoğlu may be tied to more than one place. Akşener, on the other hand, boasts of being a “man” of the “deep state”.
So, they are all state parties, they are like different faces of one party.
THE PALACE REGIME SEEKS TO GAIN LEGITIMACY THROUGH ELECTIONS
As such, things work a little differently.
Whatever the sovereign says, roles are assigned accordingly and “media services” are provided through agencies to determine the behavioral patterns of each candidate.
And who gives this adjustment?
NATO or the US, of course.
Don’t Germany, France, England, for example, have an influence on this issue? Of course they do.
Turkey is a colony.
This colony is politically dependent on the US. When we talk about politics, we cannot understand only political parties, governments, etc. It is more necessary to understand the army, the police, the judiciary, the bureaucracy.
In other words, the regime we call the Palace Regime today is the extraordinary organization of the monopoly police state, that is, the bourgeois state in our country, since 2017, and the architect of this organization is the US and NATO.
The economy of this colony depends on the EU, especially Germany.
Thus, Turkey is a rare type of colony, a “joint colony.” This state of being a “joint colony” comes from the fact that the Turkish state was organized as an outpost of the West against the October Revolution and the USSR. The West was a partner in the anti-communist struggle until the collapse of the USSR. There was an imperialist organization headed by the US. Therefore, this state of being a “joint colony” comes from the past and has no future. In other words, it cannot remain in its present state for long; it will either become a colony of the US, which holds the political sphere, or a colony of the EU, or more specifically Germany, which holds the economic sphere. This, of course, is not a matter of “choice” but depends on the outcome of the war between the US and the EU.
Nowadays, this war is taking a back seat due to the West’s joint war against Russia and China.
This is why Germany, which challenged the US in the Istanbul elections, stood behind the opposition. The reason why Erdoğan lost is not because Biden or the US “dislikes dictators,” as Şirin Payzın (Turkish journalist nowadays working in CHP-affiliated Halk TV and once worked in the mainstream state and AKP-affiliated media companies such as Show TV, CNN Türk etc. – t.n.) fabricated. Loving the US too much, being too loyal to NATO must blind one’s eyes. Otherwise, no one on earth can say with conviction that the US does not like dictators. You hear these words from the US administration and they do not say these words with conviction.
Today, after the Ukraine process, the EU has been forced to accept more US control. In these circumstances, the EU “suppresses” the tendency to act independently of the US. Of course, the US decisions were influential in these elections, i.e. the elections of May 14, 2023 and May 28, 2023.
If so, the election results are predetermined.
It may sound pretentious, but it is not. The results of the elections are predetermined and the US, NATO, first makes the choice, makes the decision, and then an “election process” is planned accordingly. For example, who elected the deputies in the parliament that was formed on May 14, the people? Of course not. The vast majority of those MPs, with the exception of HDP and TİP, were elected by NATO.
NATO is the selection committee. They select; they distribute the appropriate candidates to the appropriate parties. Of course, there may be one or two exceptions. But unplanned moves happen in every theater, of course. This much, perhaps, may be pleasing to the audience.
In this way, NATO, the US, puts its chosen ones on the field by saying “you are the chosen ones.”
They are indeed elected, but by popular vote, not at the ballot box.
With the 2023 elections, the palace regime wanted to renew the state’s bond with the people and gain legitimacy through elections.
We have always said this, that’s why we talked about “restoration,” and today these results confirm us.
ELECTIONS ARE LINKED TO WAR
There are three most important outcomes of elections. And these three results never came out of the ballot box. They were created during the election process. This is the main purpose of the play being staged.
First, during the elections, the Turkish state, the Palace Regime (Note that we use both terms in the same sense, separately. Those who want more detailed information on this subject should read Monopolistic Police State, published by Kaldıraç Publishing House, first published in 1990, and the recently published Palace Regime), wanted to break the people’s distrust of the state. That is why the elections were held. Not because “it was time and had to be done”. Therefore, it was important to give the image that “we are a democratic country,” that the people chose us. They did this during the election process. Despite all their tricks, despite all their thefts, they created such an illusion that “democracy is working” and “the people chose.”
The second result is linked to this popular support. Getting popular support would of course be temporary. Because the country is ripe for an explosion. In this situation, it is necessary to turn the left into a backup of the system through the CHP. They did this to a great extent. In this regard, the confidence of some sections of the left in “democracy,” “ballot box,” “elections” that was handed over to the thief under the conditions of the Palace Regime is excessive.
And the third is the most important. In order to prepare for war, they want to create an effective nationalism of every kind, in every section. A nationalism that is also suitable for the left is not a very difficult choice for those who have not already broken with Kemalism. All kinds of nationalism, different shades of nationalism are suitable for the preparation for war.
Without understanding the politics of war, without understanding the US use of the Turkish state as a triggerman, the desire of the US and NATO mechanisms to continue with an Erdogan who can barely stand on his feet cannot be understood.
The war in Ukraine, the Turkish position in the Syrian war and its continued presence there as an occupying force, and the special situation in Idlib would have been enough to understand this. But there is nothing more blind than the eye that does not want to see. Idlib will end and Erdogan will leave. The presence of the Turkish state in Idlib is in reality a US order. Of course, the Turkish state is very keen on these war policies, and its desire to attack is at its peak when it sees a Kurd. Our local monopolies have tasted the profits of war, which they have listened to from their masters, during the Syrian war. This blood money is very attractive for them.
Now the target is Iran, as Israel has stated. The US wants to act accordingly. On the one hand, the ISIS gangs and paramilitary groups being shifted to Azerbaijan with Turkish green passports, and on the other hand, the preparations to make a move against Iran from the Afghanistan border make the Iranian problem voiced by the US-Israel alive. The “normalization” processes between Iran and Saudi Arabia disturb the US. In this case, if Iran and the Turkish state are pitted against each other, even if both countries face destruction, this would be favorable for the US.
This is why we repeatedly and insistently emphasized the importance of linking the elections and war policies before the elections.
Such a process is ahead of us.
The Palace Regime will cling to these war policies, which it is quite prone to, because of the economic crisis it is going through. This cannot be explained only by Erdogan’s personality and his desire to save himself (of course these are included too).
ELECTIONS ARE NOT LEGITIMATE
Today, those lining up behind Kılıçdaroğlu are declaring that the first round of the elections was “rigged.” The same will probably be said about the second round.
And it is true.
If the ballot box is handed over to a thief, is it not certain that the thief will steal votes right in front of your eyes?
He is a thief, that is what he does, and it is not a matter of meritless cadres, as you say. On the contrary, they are extremely skillful cadres and they are masters of theft. Because their criminal files are bulging and if they lose, they will lose their paradise. A purse snatcher who has found paradise in this world will go to any lengths not to lose it.
This is not unknown.
If Kılıçdaroğlu, if his supporters, if the so-called intelligentsia [5], if the left-wing liberals who call themselves intellectuals did not know this, if they did not know that the elections would be rigged, they could never have merit.
We believe they knew. But whether they believed it or not, they wanted the public to believe that the elections would be normal. In this regard, they presented the words they received from the thief to the public as if they were true. Now they shamelessly say, “In fact, it was clear that Erdoğan would win in the second round.” But you were saying “go to the polls” on TV screens! You were declaring those who did not go to the polls as Erdoğan supporters!
However, the vote cast is not the same as what comes out of the ballot box.
You have to ask the thieves where, when and how these votes are changed. The Palace Regime can only stop rigging elections if the US says “no.” Otherwise, you cannot say there is no theft because you do not understand where, when and how they cheat. They say you can’t deal with a thief. This is exactly the case when it comes to elections.
Elections are not fair.
The people elected neither the parliament nor the president.
It is not even legal for Erdoğan to stand for election.
Those who created the Ekmeleddin case yesterday, those who created the “he won” case yesterday with the İnce case, have already given their support to Erdoğan by accepting his entry into the elections today.
Those who deceived the public by saying “we want to defeat him at the ballot box” must now answer for it. By saying we are here, you are not saying anything.
Those who stole the elections are criminals.
Those who stole the elections but pretend that they were fair are complicit in this crime.
The irregularity of the election was evident from the very beginning of the electoral process.
When Kılıçdaroğlu was prevented from sending messages, he asked, “What do you want, should I not run in the election?” If you were that brave, you wouldn’t have entered the election. If you were so honest, you would not have taken a step even though you knew the outcome of the election in advance. If you were so honest, you would tell the people why you don’t want to win the election. If you were that open, you wouldn’t have said “don’t take to the streets, civil war will break out,” you wouldn’t have made calls to “stay at home” as if you were supporting the fear-spreading apparatus of the Palace Regime, which cannot scare the people with TOMAs, batons and jails.
Elections are not legitimate.
Not only these elections, the November 2015 elections, for example, are not legitimate. The 2017 referendum is not legitimate either. “The horse has passed Üsküdar” [6] is a confession. For example, the 2018 elections are not legitimate either. And these elections are not legitimate either.
The people are not guilty in these elections. Those who cast their votes chose Kılıçdaroğlu and you did not even show the will to protect the votes of the people, let alone bring 418 billion dollars. Despite all the fraud, according to the results of the first election Kılıçdaroğlu won with 53%, but even these results were not announced.
NATIONALISM IS NOT EFFECTIVE, IT IS WANTED TO BE CREATED
As we enter the second round of the election, the election campaigns have started to be based more on nationalism, based on the votes that they say Oğan and the MHP received.
However, the CHP, IYI Party and others knew that the MHP vote was 4% in the elections and that Oğan’s vote was 1.5%. Ümit Özdağ acted with CHP as a nationalist and Oğan acted with Erdoğan as a nationalist. Nationalism was emphasized from both sides.
This shows us how big a mistake it was for the HDP not to field a candidate for a united alliance. The HDP candidate would not only have received 15-20% of the votes in any case, but would also have spoken the truth to the people, the real agenda of the people. This would have paved the way for a more left-wing real agenda for the second round. If you talk about tactics, this is the tactic. Otherwise, putting our power, the power of the left, on the CHP’s tail is not tactics, it is a mistake.
Today, the elections are over.
No one declares the elections, the government and the Palace illegitimate. Yet it is illegitimate.
And today, we are told that nationalism is the trend of the people. Attention must be paid. This is not true. The rulers, the masters, they want to create all kinds of nationalism for their war policies, to make the people believe that this nationalism is actively taking place among the people.
If Kılıçdaroğlu was a rival against Erdoğan, he must have thought that he could win by becoming more like him, by expressing more Islamist, more neoliberal, more nationalist, more pro-war, etc. policies, by becoming more like his rival. This is not possible.
But in our opinion, Kılıçdaroğlu’s aim was not to win. It should be clear that he was reluctant to win anyway. His mission was to prevent the people from distancing themselves from the state and to prepare the ground for steps to restore the rotten system of the Palace Regime.
NOW IT’S OUR TURN
NOW IT’S THE STREET’S TURN
NOW IT’S THE TURN OF THE RESISTANCE
Many times, we have intervened in the process. Our texts on this are there. We have clearly emphasized “what is to be done if you really, really want to win.”
Just before the second round of the elections, we said that if you wanted to win, if you wanted to prevent ballot box rigging, as soon as the elections were over, you would start a march to the Palace from every province of the country, saying “I am Kemal, I am coming, we are marching to the Palace.”
The Palace Regime did not come through elections.
The Palace Regime is not a product of Erdoğan.
The architects of the Palace Regime are the US, NATO and the West. They did not come through elections.
If so, it is a mistake to think that they will leave through elections.
Only if the US says “you will hold elections” will they do it, only if the US says “you will go through elections, I have cut your ticket,” will they comply. The US can only do this if there is a radical change in its war policies.
Now it is our turn.
The working class is the gravedigger of capitalism. Like a mole, the revolution continues its way underground.
Now it is the turn of the working class.
The ease of blaming the people must no longer be allowed. What comes out of the ballot box is not the will of the people.
What needs to be done is the organization of a revolutionary socialist line.
Now is the time to develop, become more organized and spread resistance against lies, plunder, looting, rent and war policies.
Of course we know the challenges.
We don’t sell dreams. We are not suggesting anyone to follow an easy path. We propose to write our own destiny with our hands and nails. Workers, laborers, women and youth must take their destiny into their own hands. It is our own arms that will save us.
The crisis will become even more severe. The war will intensify. This is what is visible.
Under these conditions, the class struggle will intensify.
The working class has to organize a united labor front, to unite here.
It is the turn of the resistance.
It’s the street’s turn.
Now it is our turn.
[1] Referring to the Coup d’etat of 1980, Sep 12 – t.n.
[2] Deniz Baykal, former chairman of CHP – t.n.
[3] Muharrem İnce texted “Adam kazandı”, meaning “The man (Erdoğan) won” to a journalist on live broadcast at the night of the elections. No news from İnce could be received for several hours and the public were anxious about his situation until that message was announced on TV by one of the famous anchormans of the mainstream media, İsmail Küçükkaya – t.n.
[4] Yalçın Küçük (born 1938) is a Turkish socialist writer, economist, historian and media pundit, recognized for his historical studies on the late-Ottoman and Republican periods in the history of Turkey and Soviet economic development from a Marxist perspective and also his interest in crypto-Judaism in Turkey (Sabbateanism) and criticism of the Justice and Development Party. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalçın_Küçük ) – t.n.
[5] A term produced by the writer to define the political writers who performs as the guards maintaining and protecting the Palace Regime by criticizing it in the scope of a bourgeois way of thinking.
[6] The expression/idiom Erdoğan used to defined the 2018 presidencial elections that he won, meaning “there is nothing else to do, the opportunity was missed”.
