En buyuk Turkiye!

At a scorching heat of 40 degrees yesterday held the general elections in Turkey to elect members to the 550 seat Parliament which will form a new government. Out of the country's population of 74 million people, around 42.5 million obligatory voters went to the polling stations where 14 parties and 700 independent candidates were competing to secure a five-year term in the Parliament.

Election campaign at Kizilay city center

I managed to see the process of voting when I followed his family to the school where the location of the poll stations were for his district. Instead of crossing the box for the party we vote for in Malaysia, here, they stamp "Evet" which means "Yes" in the box for the party they vote for. This time, however, a new step was imposed where voter's left forefinger was dipped with ink that will stain for the day in order to refrain them from voting again during this election. Take a look at this:

(candid pics of him voting! hehehe)

The finger (this is considered an extreme mild one, some infected the whole nail)

During the counting, the poll results were monitored live as if it was the stock market...

And here are the results:

Source: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr

For the first time in 53 years a ruling party won an election victory with an increased number of votes in Turkey. How ironic when the hatred shown towards this party was pretty obvious with aggression from the opposition parties and demonstrations from the public. Although it was predicted that the rulling party would sit at a majority for a second term, however, the percentage of votes stormed everyone.

Let me give you some lil info about Turkey. A country that is unevenly divided between Europe and Asia, of which Istanbul is the only city of its border called Bosphorus and the rest is on the anatolian (asian) side. Despite the fact that Istanbul is the largest and most popular and crowded city in Turkey in addition to its industrial and commercial hub, many thought that it is the capital, but officially Ankara is where the government reside.

The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk from the fall of Ottoman Empire. The ideology was centered on secularism and nationalism (I'm sure we have all read about him in our Form 2 History textbook which described him as the Father of Islamic modernization). 99% of the population are muslim but the society do not consider the country as an Islamic country due to its secular domination and the obscure Shariah Law. In the 1980s control over religion was tightened further with a ban on wearing the headscarf in universities and public offices because it was said that the cloth was a powerful symbol. And to my recent surprise, I was told that covering hair was never stated in the Quran. I am now wondering if the contents of Quran are being read the same in every "Islamic" country.

OK, just noticed that my blogs are beginning to sound serious and boring, so I will blog about my vacation next ;)

Election fever is on!

This coming Sunday marks the general election for Turkey. Politics has been the talk of the town lately especially at our weekend breakfast table - the candidates and their manifestos. In fact they talk about politics all the time even if it is not the election season. Since last week the campaign was finally seen with cities across the country decorated with banners and various parties flags, buses and vans driving around with loud speakers playing their slogans, media airing the election rally and party leaders' speeches. The parties vary from left wing to right wing and not so left wing to not so right wing ...etc, so to speak.

Demonstration & Meeting held at city centre, day & night

Since I arrived 2 months ago, I've seen so many meetings, protests and demonstrations on TV and real life on the streets. The liberalism in this country was not as I have expected. It was higher. Coming from a multi-racial country, we were raised not to bring up "sensitive issues" in order for peace and harmony in the country including censorships and media control. This is just a way to make us shut up and not question any doubts for the benefit of certain people. Such bullshit and naiveness.

This country has a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them hence the name Republic of Turkey. A form of government whose head of state is not a monarch but a president. I always thought that a country has either a Prime Minister or a President. I then realised my shallow knowledge in politics when I got to know that the Republic of Turkey has both a Prime Minister AND a President who serve different roles. Although I don't have the right to vote here but all the hype have interested me to read their manifestos and review them with the opinions from the locals.

All these have made me realise the importance of voting as a citizenship duty with which we can shape the future of the country. False hopes, empty promises, disappointments I foresee... SPR, I would like to register for my right to vote, please?

A swim finally...

Last weekend was nice, like every other weekends but this time we went to the swimming pool! People here get to fully enjoy outdoor swimming only for 3 months during summer so be thankful if you get to swim outdoor the whole year round! I realised that I didn't bring my swimsuit and goggles from M'sia except for my swimming cap... how smart... So we had to buy me a new swimsuit and goggles for the swim and thank god the swimming cap was of good use as it was compulsory to wear a swimming cap in the pool. Since his dad was in the navy, we went to this military club house kinda place exclusively for military people and their families. Of course I am not allowed to go in alone but luckily they didn't ask for my "member" ID because we went in by a car and they only asked for one ID at the entrance.

Being still the shy me, I was the odd one out wearing a swimsuit instead of a bikini. Unlike in M'sia, wearing a bikini would quite be the odd one out or rather the one being stared at. I envy those who were wearing a bikini because my tan was not fully covered coz of my swimsuit! Argh, need to get a pair for myself soon because I am going to the blue lagoon! Yes! This end of July, I will go to Fethiye and Oludeniz (The Blue Lagoon)... sun, sand, beach, mediterranean sea... can't wait! woo hooo~