Turkey elections

Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images

Turkish markets, lira gain as Ankara delays ruling on opposition head's ouster

An Ankara court adjourned a case to October 24 to ouster the opposition CHP party's chairman, as part of a long-running political crackdown by the ruling AKP party.

A protestor holds a placard of Istanbul's detained Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as they listen to the leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel during a rally protesting the 100th day of his detention at Sarachane Square in Istanbul on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey detains 30 as government crackdown on opposition deepens: What to know

Detainees include officials from Istanbul and Antalya municipalities and their family members as part of an ongoing corruption investigation into the Republican People’s Party (CHP) that critics say is politically motivated.

An undated image of Enes Hocaogullari.

Turkey arrests youth delegate over Council of Europe address: What to know

The youth activist’s arrest adds to Ankara’s growing isolation as Turkey faces suspension from Europe’s top human rights body.

Mazlum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, on April 26, 2025.

Analysis

Emboldened by Suwayda fallout, Syria’s Kurds hold their ground with Damascus

The Suwayda crisis boosts Kurdish confidence and threatens Erdogan’s bid to secure Kurdish support for a third term.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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Analysis

From Caucasus to Iraq: How Israel’s war hands Turkey edge over Iran

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks with President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), as they arrive for the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkey's spy chief heads for Iraq as PKK militants prepare to disarm

An Iraqi Kurdish man holds a flag with the portrait of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah on Oct. 10, 2019 against the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria.

Analysis

Erdogan’s long game: How CHP court case could cripple Turkey’s opposition

Leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel addresses the audience during a rally in Istanbul on April 9, 2025.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkey's Erdogan vows justice amid rage over alleged Prophet Muhammad cartoon

Protesters hold placards as they demonstrate against cartoonists of a satirical magazine following allegations that it had published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, outside Taksim mosque in Istanbul on July 1, 2025.

Co-leader of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) Mithat Sancar (C).

Turkey's pro-Kurdish party HDP faces threat of closure after top court ruling

The decision, which comes less than four months before the country’s fateful elections, raises the prospect of the pro-Kurdish party's running on other parties' tickets or as independent candidates.

Erdogan Bahceli

Murder of former Grey Wolves leader divides Turkey’s nationalists

Questions raised this week about the December shooting of Sinan Ates have placed Erdogan’s allied MHP party under the spotlight as elections loom.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (L) give a press conference following their meeting in Ankara, on February 8, 2022. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Finland lifts Turkey's arms embargo, is one step closer to NATO

While Finland seems one step closer to NATO membership after Helsinki’s decision to resume defense sales to Turkey, Ankara’s anger at Sweden shows no signs of abating.

F-16 jet

Analysis

The Takeaway: Turkey’s F-16 deal proves hard sell in Congress

Plus, imprisoned American Siamak Namazi launches a hunger strike in Iran, and Iraq repatriates hundreds from northeast Syria's Al-Hol camp.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan picks historically charged date of May 14 for Turkey’s crucial election

Turkey’s president indicates elections will be held on May 14, a symbolic date in the country's multiparty democracy and a month earlier than expected.

An Egyptian vendor carries a rack of Egyptian traditional 'Baladi' bread in Al Fustat neighborhood on May 2, 2022 in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt imports 80% of its wheat supply from Russia and Ukraine, whose production and export have been disrupted by the invasion. (Photo by Roger Anis/Getty Images)

Al-Monitor/Premise poll: Majority in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia on edge over food access

In an exclusive poll in five countries across the Middle East and North Africa, 68% majority of the population worried about their ability to access food.

Al-Monitor Staff

By Al-Monitor Staff

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian refugees in Turkey watch uneasily as Erdogan warms to Assad

Syrians in Turkey are wary of losing refuge as the Turkish President eyes dialogue with Assad

Imamoglu

Istanbul mayor charged with corruption as Turkish opposition weighs Erdogan challenger

The latest move against Ekrem Imamoglu comes as Turkey’s opposition weighs which candidate would stand the best chance against Erdogan.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Will Kurds’ choice to field own candidate benefit Erdogan or Turkey’s opposition?

Turkey’s major pro-Kurdish opposition party has announced it will field its own candidate in a move sure to have a profound impact on the presidential race, but in which direction?

Bayraktar drone

Turkey’s defense exports reach record levels in 2022, Erdogan says

Turkey’s president is touting the country's defense exports, which have reached a record high.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's historic election could move up as Erdogan calculates

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking a favorable vote schedule as he fights to extend his 20-year rule.

Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, al-Bab, on the border with Turkey, in Syria's northern Aleppo province, Dec. 30, 2022.

Syrian opposition-controlled areas protest Ankara-Damascus rapprochement

Syrians are speaking out against a potential Turkish-Syrian rapprochement, with opposition-held areas holding vigils and protests across Aleppo and Idlib governorates.