Give some time to this incompetent process of democracy. You’ll find your Erdogan through the same process.
ISLAMABAD: I could not agree with the writer more. We can take the Turkish example in this regard, where the last direct military coup took place in 1980. The military regime held the election in 1983. Thereafter, regular elections were held for the national parliament and local bodies. Political restrictions on leftist, ethnic and Islamist parties remained, however, elections were conducted quite fairly.
After 19 years of regular elections, we witnessed the emergence of AKP as the credible outcome of the grassroot struggle. Please don’t forget, Mr Erdogan, leader of AKP, has earned his reputation as a competent administrator in his tenure as elected mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s.
So all these tormentors of elected politicians, please, hold your guns. Give some time to this incompetent process of democracy. You’ll find your Erdogan through the same process. There is indeed no shortcut.
Zia Banday
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2011.
