The Justice and Development Party (AK Party), under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, heads into yet another election in its brief history marked with political victories. The party has little to offer other than building upon what they’ve achieved in the past two decades and bringing Türkiye into a better league in the international community. But the new election manifesto announced by Erdoğan on Tuesday expands the social rights offered to different parts of society.
One outstanding novelty in the election manifesto which was filled with doable pledges thanks to the AK Party government’s records, is the establishment of the Family and Youth Bank. Funded by the natural gas and oil income of Türkiye, the bank will serve the welfare of the titular groups.
Amid the decreasing youth population and to spur economic growth, the election manifesto makes an offer that young couples would likely not refuse: An interest-free $7,766 (TL 150,000) “marriage loan” for newlyweds who will be allowed to start paying it back two years later and in 48 installments. The Family and Youth Bank will provide the loan. The bank will also provide free land, interest-free loans with lengthy installments, and a guarantee for the purchase of their products for young entrepreneurs, particularly those in the agricultural sector.
“The family” is the highlight of the manifesto which pledges to leave no household below minimum living standard. It pledges the establishment of a family support system that will provide what the party called “citizenship salary” for families. It also vows financial support for housewives to benefit from pensions just like working women. One-third of premiums housewives should pay to be entitled to pensions will be covered by the state, the manifesto says.
For elderly women, the retirement age will be based on the number of children and will be flexible. At least one person from every household will have a job, according to the manifesto, thanks to the incentives, such as the state covering social security premiums of private companies for each employee.
The manifesto also hints at a “flexible working environment” for new fathers, though it stopped short of announcing a lengthy paid parental leave for fathers.
In education, the manifesto pledges to increase free meals currently offered to 5 million students in more public schools and extra study time in grade schools for students unable to achieve higher marks if they wish.
University students will be issued a “Youth Card” which will enable its holder to have free or cheap access to culture and arts events, from concerts to film screenings. Every university student will also be entitled to 10 gigabytes of free internet access monthly.
Also for university students, the AK Party pledges a one-time tax exemption on their cellphone and computer purchases.
The manifesto also promises to help the youth gain success in at least one of three fields: learning to play a musical instrument, a new language or obtaining a professional license in any sports branches, through intra-curricular and extra-curricular programs, which will be introduced across Türkiye. Students with skills in those three fields will be prioritized in university admissions and will be provided with scholarships.
The election manifesto’s chapters entitled Justice Reform, Rights and Freedoms pledge new reforms in this field and a higher standard of democracy.
A “legislative reform” will be brought to life through participatory, pluralistic and transparent efforts, according to the manifesto, which also pledges to revise the Law for Political Parties in a manner emphasizing freedoms. Filing lawsuits for the closure of political parties will be subject to the approval of the Turkish Parliament.
It also pledges to lift the practice of interviews for hiring public sector employees except in security-related jobs and employees will be hired solely based on the results of the exams they sat for access to public sector jobs.
The AK Party’s other promises include introducing the Public Initiative, which will enable ordinary citizens to propose a new law or appeal to the Constitutional Court for annulment of an existing law if they gather enough signatures in their petitions. An “e-democracy” platform will also be established for the implementation of digital voting and discussion methods.
