When voters opt for candidates who unite
So many democracies today are beset with the politics of fear and smear that it is refreshing when some elections suggest voters say 鈥淓nough!鈥� and choose candidates who do not see opponents as evil.
Turkey鈥檚 nationwide municipal election on Sunday was one good example. Many voters rejected the populist rhetoric of hate and division employed by President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an, who has been in power for 16 years. They gave control of five of Turkey鈥檚 six biggest cities to the main opposition parties. And this despite Mr. Erdo臒an鈥檚 mass jailing of dissidents and his control over much of the media and the judiciary.
Voters in those cities had tired of the president鈥檚 labeling of opponents as either terrorist collaborators, anti-Muslim, or agents of the West. The truth was easily available on social media. In one video that went viral, a woman asks: 鈥淲hy should the man governing Turkey make a distinction between the people? Are the [opposition] parties always evil and you [Mr. Erdo臒an] are good?鈥�
The voters鈥� desire for peaceful rather than polarizing politics was reflected in the victory speech of the winner of the mayoral race in the nation鈥檚 capital. 鈥淣o one has lost,鈥� Mansur Yava艧 of the Republican People鈥檚 Party (CHP) told supporters. 鈥淎nkara has won.鈥�
The new mood was best seen in the contest for mayor of Istanbul, the country鈥檚 economic powerhouse. After his victory, Ekrem 陌mamo臒lu of the CHP urged Turks to be careful of their words. 鈥淓ven a single person being slighted or offended will sadden me.鈥� He promised to 鈥渉eal the wounds that have been opened鈥� by the harsh rhetoric about faith and ethnicity by Mr. Erdo臒an鈥檚 ruling Justice and Development Party.
During his campaign, Mr. 陌mamo臒lu spoke of the need for leadership in civility and an end to government relying on fear to suppress dissent. 鈥淚f the mayor isn鈥檛 genial then the citizen isn鈥檛 either,鈥� he said.
Another recent example of a country opting for candidates offering reconciliation was Saturday鈥檚 election in Slovakia. In a rebuke to the governing party鈥檚 anti-immigrant and populist tactics, a political newcomer and activist, Zuzana 膶aputov谩, was elected president, the first woman to hold the post in the central European nation. In her victory speech, she said, 鈥淚 am happy not just for the result, but mainly that it is possible not to succumb to populism, to tell the truth, to raise interest without aggressive vocabulary.鈥�
鈥淢aybe we thought that justice and fairness in politics were signs of weakness,鈥� she told supporters. 鈥淭oday, we see that they are actually our strengths. We thought that the barrier between conservative and liberal is unbreakable, but we managed to do it.鈥�
Democracy鈥檚 great strength lies in its ability to draw people back from the extremes of rhetoric that rive a society rather than raise it up. In Turkey and Slovakia, voters have chosen that sort of reversal of hate. The bonds of civic life were too strong for incivility.
