Why we must reassess our national priorities

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won the Turkish presidential elections, extending his 16-year rule by five more years. Yesterday, the president gave a gushing acceptance speech even before all the votes were counted. “The message is clear,” he said. “With turnout of nearly 90 per cent, Turkey has taught the whole world a democracy lesson.”

At the time, Turkish media was reporting he had garnered 53.7 per cent of votes counted, with the main opposition candidate at 31 per cent. The Turkish opposition has conceded defeat but maintains that the elections were unjust and unfair. Their assessment of the electoral process is of little consequence to Erdogan, a president who will now acquire sweeping new powers; including the ability to unilaterally appoint his cabinet, install senior judges and make presidential decrees with the full force of the law.