As in the previous Bulletin, the tense relations between the government and the opposition are at the forefront of the political agenda. At least until the elections, this situation is less likely to change. Before delving into this subject, we need to touch on a new development that concerns all of us as citizens of Turkey.The latest "Human Freedom Index", prepared by two think-tanks (Cato Institute and Fraser Institute) based in North America, was announced on January 27. Accordingly, Turkey has gradually declined from 7.06 points in 2010, when it achieved the highest score in terms of general freedom level, to 5.71 points by 2022 and has fallen to 130th place among 165 countries.Since Turkey's score in 2018 (reflecting the 2017 data) is almost the same (5.72), the current data of 5.71 means that the state of emergency still continues, even though it has been officially lifted. With this score, Turkey lags behind 26th in Armenia, 28th in [South] Cyprus, 43rd in Georgia, 87th in Kyrgyzstan, 107th in Kazakhstan, 113th in Tunisia and Kuwait, 119th place in Russia, and 129th in Qatar.In addition, according to these data, Turkey received the lowest grade for "freedom of expression and information" with a score of 3.0, which is also below its general average. Turkey's "rule of law" score is similarly on the ground with 3.8 points.Indeed, this embarrassingly poor record of our country on freedom and human rights is not surprising to us as citizens. The President of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and forensic expert, Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, was the latest victim and an example of the government’s poor record in the human rights index. As we witnessed that Prof. Fincancı was sentenced to 2 years, 8 months, and 15 days in prison in the case where she was charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" for saying that the allegations of using chemical weapons in the operations carried out by the Turkish army in Northern Iraq should be investigated by independent committees.On the other hand, "Law No. 7418 on Amendments to the Press Law and Certain Laws", which was adopted by the Parliament in October last year and stipulated that those who spread "false information" are punished with imprisonment from 1 to 3 years, brought a new set of restrictions on the freedom of expression and press. These and similar regulations and judicial decisions based on them show that the above-mentioned statistics by the international organizations regarding the poor performance of freedom of expression in Turkey is, unfortunately, correct. This Law also exposes non-governmental organizations to the risk of being tried for up to three years in prison due to the opinions expressed on their platforms.Behind other developments that spoiled Turkey's record, there lies the series of unconstitutional contradictions brought up by Tayyip Erdoğan's intention to run for the presidency for the third time and to decide on the re-election of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. If it takes place, this attempt will violate both the provision of the Constitution that a person can be a candidate for the presidency "at most twice" and the exceptional rule that the third time candidacy is possible only if the legislature decides to renew the elections while the president is in his second term in office.Since all constitutional powers are under the control or tutelage of the president in the current system, it seems that there is no constitutional body or office - including the judicial one - to prevent these constitutional violations. The opposition, on the other hand, seems to be unwilling to take any action to prevent the president despite expressing this contradiction, probably in the hope that they can defeat Tayyip Erdoğan in the elections - and with the thought that this is more appropriate politically.This is not the only obstacle that the main wing of the opposition, which came together at the "Table for Six", might face on the way to the general elections. The trap that the ruling bloc set for the opposition under the name of "liberating the headscarf" is about to be activated. As a matter of fact, the opposition's motion to make the ruling parties' proposal compatible with human rights was rejected by the representatives of the government in the Constitutional Commission. In this case, it seems that the AKP-MHP ruling bloc plans to put the opposition candidate in hot water in the presidential election by ensuring that their proposals are put to a referendum without any change and by making propaganda that the opposition is against the "freedom of the headscarf".Meanwhile, the lawsuit filed at the Constitutional Court for the closure of the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) apparently continues in line with the expectations of the ruling bloc. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected the request of the respondent party to leave the proceedings of the case until after the election. Meanwhile, considering that the defendant Party will make an oral defense on March 14, it seems highly likely that the case will be decided before the elections and will result in a decision of "deprivation of treasury aid".Speaking of the judiciary, it should be pointed out that the President of the Supreme Court Mehmet Akarca's criticisms that the Constitutional Court overstepped its authority by turning "individual applications" into a kind of appeal review and adopted a "judicial activist" attitude. It should be noted that this statement of the President of the Supreme Court is not pleasant not only in terms of its political meaning but also in terms of the President's own dignity. By doing so, the President wants to show that he stands by the political power against the Constitutional Court, which he sees as a rival. This outburst may also damage the President's own legal identity by making claims that have no legal basis. This, in turn, might give the impression that he does not have enough knowledge about the legal nature of the issue on which he makes such claims.In the meantime, while it has been a common belief for some time that the Turkish Statistical Institute has been one of the institutions most affected by the corruption caused by the oppressive and favoritism politics in recent years, especially due to the unreliable inflation rates it has announced, now the statements made on behalf of the Central Bank put this institution also in the same category. As a matter of fact, judging by the President's unconvincing statement on January 26, the Central Bank has completely abandoned its main task of ensuring price stability and has undertaken the task of supporting political power just on the eve of the general elections. Indeed, according to President Kavcıoğlu's statement, inflation will decrease to 22% at the end of 2023 and to around 9% at the end of 2024. On the other hand, Turkey's energy costs will decrease in 2023, as energy costs will decrease both due to the decrease in prices and as a result of the domestic natural gas resources being put into service in March, and thus, the budget will be able to give a current surplus!See you in the next Bulletin.

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