Now, after two decades in power,
the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is all set to
step down from his post.
And this comes as Edwin is now announced.
The local elections that are slated for later this month
will be his last elections.
But this is the first time that the 70 year
old leader has expressed his desire to leave office,
although the president has expressed that his conservative Justice and
Development Party will remain in power even after he quits.
For over 2 decades, Erdogan has in fact gained A
reputation as an undefeated figure in Turkish politics,
dominating election after election.
Edwin, the only president in Turkish history,
is being elected directly through a public ward and has
served three terms.
Edwin was first elected to power as the Prime Minister
of Turkey back in 2003.
His first term as president came after winning the 2014
elections following a referendum to change the country's system from
the parliamentary to presidential.
He was able to secure a third term as well,
and for over 2 decades,
Erdogan has gained A reputation as an undefeated figure.
However, his power has of course drained in recent years
after the country was hit by one of its worst
earthquakes.
In 2023, Erdogan ended up losing a sizable chunk of
his urban vote base.
On top of this, soaring inflation was also hampers hold
in rural areas.
Turkey's current inflation rate is hovering at about 67%.
While he won the 2019 elections,
his party lost the mayoral polls of the country's largest
two cities to the opposition Republican People's Party.
In this final election that he'll contest,
everyone hopes to regain Istanbul and Ankara,
and the news of Edwin's possible retirement has of course
been received with a lot of scepticism.
Critics say that everyone wants to capture the emotions of
the people before the municipal polls.
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