[TURKEY] The First Ottoman Election

[Retroliser]

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The First Ottoman Election ​

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@Apingdaldal
@Zak
@Dragon

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen," The host greeted. "Welcome to Spectrum, the current affairs program that examines the events occurring in the world today to find out what is going on. Tonight, we bring the parties currently competing in the first elections of Ottoman Turkey together to find out what plans they have, if they win. Let's allow our guests to introduce themselves and the party they're representing, before they answer the first question of what they intend to stimulate growth of The Turkish Economy."

"I'm Olağan Bilgelik, Leader of The Ottoman Restorationists. At the present time, we believe that the economy should be left to grow by itself. However, the government, no matter what its political leanings are, should be ready to intervene if there are circumstances that require it. The most prominent that springs to my mind is the rail and metro networks across Turkey. The ability to commute is, quite literally, a matter of life and poverty for everyone. If they are unable to commute, the jobs they can consider applying for are limited by distance. As such, maintaining total control over the metro and rail services means that it can be run for the benefit of the passengers, not the bank accounts of shareholders.

At the present time, with the dissolution of the previous regime, the state-owned rail companies are no longer in the government's possession. The Restorationists propose retaking control of these rail networks and putting them firmly into The Royal Estate's sphere of influence. This independent trust that runs state-owned companies should achieve the best of both worlds. By eliminating the government involvement, it is impossible for these vital organisations to be meddled with for political gain, while also being run by true business people. As such, they will be run with the efficiency and shrewdness of a true commercial enterprise, while also being operated for the people, not the owners.

Other competences that shouldn't be left to private enterprise is our defence industry. Having a private defence industry means that they could, theoretically, sell the products they have made for The Ottoman Government to other nations. If there is one thing that concerns me, it's a country using OUR weapons against us. As such, my party will nationalise all defence contractors within Turkey, put them into The Royal Estate's portfolio, and put forward legislation that will prohibit the export of Turkish weapons, unless they have the permission of the government.

Finally, as per Article 22 of The Ottoman Constitution, we intend to nationalise any private communications enterprises and infrastructure within Turkey. The internet, telephone and postage are as important to daily life as the ability to commute. As such, it should be a priority to ensure that they are kept as efficient as possible. Thus, if we receive a proper mandate, I, and the cabinet, will instigate a massive infrastructure effort. We will do everything in our power to ensure that every home in Turkey, regardless of its location, is able to receive Fibre-To-The-Premises, and the blisteringly fast broadband speeds they bestow. At the present time, the average broadband speed for a Turk is a pitiful 24 megabits a second, or 3 megabytes a second. With the ever growing size of downloads and uploads, we should not fall so far behind that the dreaded phenomenon of buffering becomes a permanent fixture in our lives. Instead, we should strike now and ensure that we are all blessed with ultra-fast broadband so that we overtake, and remain ahead of, the sheer amounts of data being transmitted across the web."

(Olağan Bilgelik, Current Grand Vizier & Leader Of The Ottoman Restorationists)​

 

[Retroliser]

@Zak
@Dragon
"The polls are closed and the votes have been counted! The results are, to say the least, surprising." The newscaster reported. "The expected result of a landslide for The Ottoman Restorationists never materialised. Instead, it became a relatively even split between the libertarian Party For Freedom, who won around 40% of the vote, while The Restorationists and The PKK, which the former government allowed to be on the ballot, achieved an equal split of the remaining 60%. However, due to the silence from the Kurdish movement regarding whether they would accept the demands to shed their terrorist roots, it has been made clear that they will be barred from taking their seats. Olağan Bilgelik, the former Grand Vizier, said this about The PKK on his departure from office."

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"Unless The PKK accept the reasonable requests I made last year, they cannot take their places in The Diet. I said, in no uncertain terms, that if they did as requested, they could contest this election as an equal. They refused, so they are not allowed to take their seats. Considering the fact that they won 26 seats out of 88 in this election, that's a lot of people they are depriving of representation, because of their intransigence."

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"The outgoing Grand Vizier stating that until they accept the former government's demands, they will not be permitted to take their seats in The Diet." The newscaster summarised. "In further news related to this topic, The Sultan will be releasing the list of names he will be bestowing the position of nobility on tomorrow. The group of 88 members of the nobility, consisting of seven Pashas, the equivalent of European Dukes, and 81 Beys, equal to European Counts or British Earls, match the 88 elected members of The Diet. The names on the list, and their allegiances, will determine who will form the next government.

And now... Sports."

 

[Dragon]

The libertarian Party for Freedom would note the slight abnormality of calling said election results a draw considering the apparent majority in favour of the liberal cause as oppose to that of the pragmatic Restorationists. The Party for Freedom would criticize the supposed results but would nevertheless take their seats in the Ottoman Parliament.

 

[NagandEmerald]

The Kaiser criticized the Ottoman government on depriving the earned seats of the PKK, calling the act a "violation of the rights that the party has to fair and just representation within a parliament". However, he also understood the reasons why, and would state that "the Ottoman government must and can do whatever is necessary in order to secure the safety of the government and the Turkish people at large."

 

[Retroliser]

@NagandEmerald
@Dragon
"Mr. Bilgelik!" The crowd of journalists clamoured. "What do you say to the criticism by The Party For Freedom and The German Kaiser regarding the decision to block The PKK from taking their seats in The Diet?"

The former Grand Vizier raised a hand to silence the crowd.

"It was a decision that I didn't take lightly," He admitted. "The criticism they have given is perfectly valid, since it does deprive people of the representation they deserve. However, it is not I, or the government I led, that should be blamed. I made it abundantly clear, publicly, that The PKK must cast aside its past as an organisation that utilises violence. Once they did that, they would be free to contest elections as an equal. However, they've yet to do that.

I allowed their name to be put on the ballot paper, because I believed that giving this tiny bit of ground would encourage them to accept my requests. Instead, they remain silent. As such, through their refusal to shed the spectres of their blood-soaked past, they have intentionally deprived 26 constituencies of the representation they deserve in our national legislature. Until they accept, The PKK Members Of The Diet will not be allowed to take their seats. It's as simple as that. My former government quashed scores of convictions, released every single political prisoner in our jails and allowed The PKK's founder and ideological visionary, Abdullah Öcalan, to live what precious little of his life is left, after 20 years of it were stolen by the former Republican government. If that's not an indication that we were ready to have lasting peace in south-east Turkey, then I don't know what is."