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DE RUEHIT #0400/01 2111306
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P 291306Z JUL 08
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
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RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000400 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY-ADDING MORE DEMOCRACY TO THE DEMOCRATIC 
PARTY (DP) 
 
REF: ISTANBUL 334 
 
ISTANBUL 00000400  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Newly elected Istanbul chair of the 
Democratic Party (DP) Remzi Sen said the party is 
incorporating additional democratic principles, including a 
primary system to select its candidates.  This is part of 
DP's new strategy to broaden its appeal and "embrace all 70 
million Turks".   The party seeks to receive over ten percent 
of the national votes in the 2009 local elections to show it 
is a viable opposition party.  Sen understands that poor 
leadership in the past has given the party a bad image, but 
thinks new blood at the top should overcome this problem. 
Sen is critical of the closure case against the ruling 
Justice and Development Party (AKP) and supports the 
operation against the alleged "Ergenekon" coup plotters. End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) DP's Istanbul chair Remzi Sen stated the party is in 
the process of adopting radical changes to become truly 
democratic.  According to Sen, elected Istanbul DP chairman 
in June, at the October party convention the DP will change 
its party by-laws to require all DP candidates to be selected 
by a primary vote, rather than being appointed by the party 
leadership.  This will show the DP is serious about bringing 
the average Turk into the political process, Sen argued. By 
contrast, in Turkey's other major political parties the 
leadership selects candidates for the party lists with no 
input from the rank and file.  This will give DP a great 
advantage during the next election, according to Sen, since 
Turks tend to vote for candidates whom they know personally. 
A primary system would strongly encourage candidates to 
interact with the voters to gain better and positive name 
recognition. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Sen, selecting candidates by a primary 
system is part of DP's strategy to "embrace all 70 million 
Turks".   The new DP national party chair Suleyman Soylu, 
wants to reach out to all consistencies to counter the 
current divisive political situation, Sen said.  Young, 
energetic, and with a background similar to Prime Minister 
Erdogan, Soylu grew up in an Istanbul lower middle-class 
neighborhood, learning politics at the grassroots level, he 
noted. Soon after becoming party chair, Soylu traveled 
throughout Turkey to introduce himself to the electorate. 
Sen told us DP does not target a particular region or 
demographic: "all Turks are the same; Diyarbakir is no 
different from Trabzon".  Sen said Soylu brings a fresh, new 
positive attitude to the DP that will attract all Turks. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
DP Wants to get over 10 percent in the 2009 Local elections 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Sen told us DP seeks to gain over ten percent of the 
national vote in the local elections currently scheduled for 
March 2009.  Although the 10 percent threshold set by law for 
representation in Parliament does not apply to local 
elections, crossing this symbolic barrier would signal to the 
public that DP is a viable political party in a future 
national election. DP has no plans to renew attempts to merge 
with fellow center-right Motherland Party (Anavatan), he 
added (reftel).  While Anavatan members are welcome to join 
DP, DP will not merge with any party. Sen emphasized DP is 
the original center-right party, with roots going back to the 
1940s, and currently garners far more support than the 
smaller Anavatan Party. 
 
¶5. (SBU) While Sen did not provide concrete examples of how a 
DP administration would differ from AKP, he criticized AKP 
for dividing the nation.  Sen alleged the AKP packed the 
bureaucracy with cronies, rather than appointing people on 
merit.  He conceded that previous ruling parties used the 
same tactic, claiming however that AKP's abuse was more 
pervasive.  AKP's appointment policy is more dangerous, Sen 
stated, because the leadership not only chooses from its own 
supporters but focuses its appointments on people with "a 
certain lifestyle"; a veiled reference to pious party 
supporters. 
 
------------- 
Past Problems 
------------- 
 
ISTANBUL 00000400  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Sen admitted DP has an image problem caused by past 
leaders. Management and personal mistakes tainted DP and its 
predecessor, the True Path Party (DYP).  Previous party 
chairs Tansu Ciller and Mehmet Agar, both viewed as having 
mismanaged the party, were associated with scandals in the 
1990s.  Soylu will bring the party back to its roots, 
according to Sen. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Anti-Closure Case; Pro-Ergenekon Prosectuion 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Sen strongly criticized the AKP closure case, 
stating the judiciary should not ban a legitimately elected 
ruling party.  In a true democracy, the people should decide 
if a party should be closed, and the method to do this is 
through the normal electoral process.  The military, the 
judiciary and foreign powers should not meddle in Turkey's 
democratic system.  Sen expects the Constitutional Court to 
make the "right" decision by rejecting the prosecutor's call 
to ban the AKP.  Even if the AKP is not banned, AKP opponents 
will continue to pressure the party, likely introducing yet 
another political crisis, he continued.  The public is 
getting fed up with the political unrest and will punish AKP 
at the ballot box, he predicted. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Sen told us there is at least "some truth" to the 
ongoing criminal investigations targeting the Ergenekon 
alleged coup plotters.   There are those who seek to remove 
AKP by any means necessary, including using force to oust a 
democratically elected government, he said.  Those who plan 
or instigate the forceful removal of a government should be 
prosecuted under the law. 
 
---------- 
Comment 
---------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) If successful, the DP's move to use primaries to 
select candidates would be a welcome step away from the 
Turkish custom of concentrating that power in party leaders' 
hands. While this may create bitter power struggles open to 
public viewing, it would boost DP's credibility as a more 
open and democratic alternative to AKP and other parties - a 
positive development in a country with very little 
intra-party democracy.  At the same time, if DP cannot 
articulate a platform with grass-roots appeal distinct from 
AKP, or indeed from its own past, it is hard to see how a 
primary system alone will bring in enough votes to restore 
the party's viability. 
OUDKIRK