One minister blamed a cat, but there could well be something a little more dodgy going on
An extensive power outage across parts of Turkey left at least five cities, including Ankara and Istanbul, without electricity yesterday. In the latter area metro and tram services were affected, while tourists struggled to find their way out of a darkened Grand Bazaar. Taxi drivers were reported to have doubled their fares, leading to numerous complaints.
According to local reports, the loss of power was caused by breakdowns at three separate locations, including the energy transfer line that links the two halves of Istanbul either side of the Bosphorus, as well as the European and Anatolian parts of Turkey.
Initially, Turkey’s energy minister, Taner Yildiz, reported that heavy storms and snowfall had been responsible for the blackouts in parts of eastern Turkey, and then held a cat responsible for power failures in the west. The minister’s comments drew ridicule from many Turks, and has now also led to a lawsuit being filed against Mr Yildiz.
Far more serious though is the wave of electoral fraud allegations that have emerged in the wake of the blackouts. In Eskisehir, the mayor Yilnaz Buyukersen, a member of the opposition People’s Republican Party, told journalists that a man had been caught with a bag full of ballot papers stolen from a high school. In other parts of the country, ballot papers were alleged to have been found in bins, or pre-printed in favour of the ruling Justice and Development party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister. In one case, the election official apparently took the box into which ballots had been cast back to his home.
When exit polls revealed a victory for the government, protests broke out across Turkey, with crowds gathering on the streets of Ankara and chanting “Thief Tayyip”. In southeastern Turkey, at least six people have been killed.
Following Mr Erdogan’s victory, it is now believed he had enough support to make a run for the presidency in August. The current incumbent, Abdullah Gul, has criticised him in recent years, notably over the ban on Twitter which was imposed on 20th March. Given that he was once seen as a moderate and a moderniser, if Mr Erdogan followed up his increasingly authoritarian and populist moves of recent years by securing the presidency, it would likely cement the divisions that have formed in Turkish society since the start of the Gezi park protests last year.
Featured image: Twitter, inset image: Wikipedia
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