As the London-based weekly The Economist ignited a campaign of intervention in Turkish elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed they would “not allow Türkiye’s domestic politics to be manipulated.”
In a tweet on Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who runs for office on May 14 elections, said they would “not allow covers of magazines, which are the operational apparatus of global powers, to wag their finger at the nation’s will.”
Known for its staunch opposition to Erdoğan, The Economist drew the ire of the president’s supporters with a cover calling for a victory for the opposition. The cover with the title “The Most Important Election of 2023” was adorned with tags “Save Democracy” and “Erdoğan Must Go.”
Social media users were furious while Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın laughed away the cover in a tweet. “They got excited again,” Kalın wrote on Thursday, 10 days before Türkiye will decide whether to extend Erdoğan's tenure or vote for his three other rivals.
In the accompanying article, the weekly claimed Erdoğan's defeat would show “democrats everywhere that strongmen can be beaten.”
“A new government would repair battered relations with the West,” the article reads.
