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Turkey started an investigation into the leader of the main opposition party for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the recent phase of a procedure that inspired investors’ fears about the political instability and economic program of the government.
The investigation that could lead to the chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Özgür Özel of his parliamentary immunity follows the arrest in March of the star opposition politician Ekrem İmoğlu, who led to mass protests, investor in panic and capital flight.
The Turkish markets fell on Monday after the public prosecutor’s office started the probe late Sunday.
In the morning trade, the Benchmark Bister 100 -shares in the market fell by 1.2 percent after he had increased almost 10 percent last week with the hope of interest cuts and the shift of a separate case, which could decide the fate of the CHP, the oldest party in Turkey.
The Turkish currency weakened over 40 lira in the US dollar, while the costs for the insurance of Turkish debts rose against delay.
Özel, who has led masses across the country since İmamoğlus and increased his criticism of Erdoğan, was accused of “insulting” the president and “insulting offensive”.
“Özel exceeded the limits of political courtesy with threatening and provocative statements,” the head of the Türkiye communication on Monday wrote in a social media post. “Democracy is strengthened … by the will of the nation and the basis of law.”
CHP spokesman Deniz Yücel called the probe the latest “attempt to suppress freedom of expression and legitimate democratic politics”.
The examination of Özel-and Erdoğan has accused of leading a “Junta” and said that his government is carrying out a “coup”, the latest escalation in a month-long campaign to weaken the opposition and contain the objection.
Last week, more than 120 people were arrested in a comprehensive corruption examination in İzmir, a CHP stronghold and the third largest city in Türkiye. This was followed by three CHP Mayors on Saturday, also due to allegations of corruption.
Four employees of the Satirical Leman Magazine were arrested last week after they published a cartoon that seemed to show the Prophet Mohammed, whose presentation is a deeply controversial topic in Islam. The magazine denied the allegations.
In some cases, the authorities have withdrawn from the procedure, as it happened last week when a Landmark Court in question was postponed to the legitimacy of the management of the CHP until autumn.
“The government is very sensitive to the execution of the economy,” said Kieran Curtis, head of the threshold leaders of local currency debt at Aberdeen investments. “They also very consciously observe what the market falls out of the procedure and do not want to upset the market.”
The government insists that the country’s judiciary is independent, but critics say that the procedure is an attempt to undermine the opposition after gaining the local elections of the past year at Erdoğan’s governing AK party.
Most surveys show that the AK party remains behind the CHP, and most Turks believe that the probes are unfair.
“The main opposition CHP of Turkey achieved a historical victory in the 2024 local elections. Now Erdoğan is scratching these communities through court decisions and prison CHP mayors,” said Gönül Tol of the Memorial of the Middle East Institute in Washington.
According to the analysts, a risk to the government is that investors’ trust could undermine into the economic stabilization program, which in turn could extend the country’s living costs by making it more difficult for the central bank to reduce interest.
“I think the government makes plans in the course of this and sees how it works on site and whether there is a popular setback,” said Berk Essen, assistant professor of political science at the Sabancı University of Istanbul. “These steps have the potential to get back to the rear. In a way, they already have: That is why interest rates have been kept high. But so far the government has managed to stabilize the situation.”
Since the trigger of FinanzPanik triggered by İmamoğlus, the foreign exchange reserves have partially recovered, which forced the central bank to increase interest rates and burn around $ 50 billion. However, the gross reserves remain around $ 25 billion below its annual high of around $ 175 billion.
Inflation is due to 35 percent, while the main policy set of the central bank is 46 percent, which affects the ability of companies to finance themselves.
