Corruption in Turkey – blatant and loud
Last week Turkey erupted in a way that was surprising. To start with, Turkey’s President Erdogan had Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, his strongest presidential opponent to date disqualified. Mr. Imamoglu’s was stripped of his university degree, implying corruption in his education and then he was arrested for corruption. “His imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major contender from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028.”
The citizens of Turkey do not seem to agree with the President’s characterization of Mr. Imamoglu’s potential crimes, and the people have expressed their concerns in nationwide protest. Anti-corruption protests have occurred in Georgia and Serbia where citizens feel strongly that their governments have been acting incorrectly, and it seems that in Turkey, they have had enough and have come out to protest against government corruption.
As has been the case in many countries, there are underlying issues in the use of government funds as well as how government operates. We are monitoring all of the protests and see if this might lead to longer-term changes.
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