Early elections fail to settle government standoff
President Basri and her party see support rise but fail to capture a legislative majority after the Alliance regain ground23 April 4745An early general election in Jakania has failed to resolve the question of who will form the country's next government. The elections for the Assembly and for the office of President were held yesterday in response to the decision of the Democratic Alliance, led by former Premier Yilma Bal, to withdraw from a coalition government with the right-wing parties Birlik and Niyaz. Although Bal had made clear that he would be willing to form a government with the socialist opposition party Umut, the power to propose a cabinet in Jakania is the exclusive prerogative of the President. The sitting President Ayleen Basri, leader of Birlik, outright refused to consider proposing a coalition that did not include her own party, making early elections inevitable.
Above: Democratic Alliance leader and former Premier Yilma Bal has been at the centre of the ongoing standoff between his party and President Basri's BirlikUnfortunately the elections have delivered remarkably similar results to the previous vote. In the presidential vote, the two main contenders were Basri and Umut leader Teniz Topal. Like in 4742, Basri emerged victorious on the second ballot thanks to significant second preference support. In the Assembly, there were some changes to the legislative arithmetic. Birlik replaced Umut as the largest party and the Alliance moved into third place ahead of Niyaz. Both parties are believed to have benefited from an increasingly hostile war of words in the press, that boosted the profile of their leaders.
The actual election campaign was a stark contrast to the previous competition though. Last time around, the parties were by no means kind to each other but the campaign was primarily fought on policy issues. In this campaign, the dividing lines between the parties were much clearer, with the two parties of the left standing off against the two parties of the right, and the exchanges much more direct. In the end, this has made it all the more difficult now that the key offices are divided between the two coalitions.
In the short time since the results were announced, politicians of all colours have already begun their attempts to shape the narrative of the election. The re-elected Basri was clear that her increased margin of victory and the success of Birlik represented a victory, while Bal told a rally of supporters in the capital that the result was a "mandate for a centre-left government in Jakania". At the moment, it isn't clear what will happen in the coming months. While it is expected that Bal and Topal will attempt to form a coalition government, it seems unlikely that the President would reverse her stance on proposing such a government in the wake of an increase in her support.
Political commentators have been discussing various approaches moving forward, journalist Bayrak Vural says, "It seems that in the short term, we'll remain without a proper government and much of the legislative work will be done by the two left-wing parties in the Assembly. Thinking ahead though, the only feasible option when you have a President who won't use her power to propose a government, is to take that power away from her. Failing that, we could be back at the polls before the year is out".
Dokuz Haberler is a broadsheet newspaper published in Jakania in the country's three major languages, the paper aims to cover current affairs from a non-partisan perspective