What does this presidential election mean for Turkey’s future?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 May 2023
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For the first time in his 20 years in power Erdogan is facing serious pressure - and the choice voters make in this month’s presidential election could define Turkey’s destiny for decades.
The impact of February’s devastating earthquake in Turkey is one of the key factors determining how voters will decide on their next president. The Turkish economy is also under pressure with inflation running at 55%. Against that background, a coalition of opposition parties, The Table of Six, are supporting a single candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, against President Erdogan.
As polls predict a tight result in the first round of the election, The Inquiry asks: What does this presidential election mean for Turkey’s future?
Presenter: Qasa Alom Producer: Phil Reevell Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda -Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Nicky Edwards
(Turkish citizen living abroad casts her vote in advance of the presidential election in London UK April 29 2023. Credit: Rasid Necati Aslim/Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | 15 years ago, 23-year-old Norwegian student Martina Vick Magnussen was killed in an apartment near Mayfair. |
| 0:07.0 | 23-year-old Martina Vick Magnussen was found partially buried in the basement. |
| 0:12.0 | Before being questioned, the only suspect in the case had fled the UK to Yemen. |
| 0:17.0 | I made a promise to Martina's family to find out what happened. |
| 0:21.0 | Murder in Mayfair, part of the documentary, find it wherever you get your BBC podcast. |
| 0:28.0 | Welcome to the inquiry with me, Casa Alon. |
| 0:31.0 | Each week, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:38.0 | It's the 9th of February 2023. |
| 0:41.0 | Three days after the most devastating earthquake in Turkey's history, |
| 0:45.0 | and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting one of the sites. |
| 0:50.0 | Once a place of homes, shops and laughter, now it's full of overturned cars, |
| 0:56.0 | rubble and sorrow. |
| 0:58.0 | As Erdogan walks through the wreckage in a smart black woolen coat and shiny shoes, |
| 1:04.0 | an old woman in a headscarf embraces him and bursts into tears. |
| 1:09.0 | It's unclear whether she's angry to see him or relieved. |
| 1:13.0 | 50,000 people have been killed, nearly 3 million homeless, |
| 1:18.0 | and the damage runs into their tens of billions of dollars. |
| 1:22.0 | Fingers are pointing at the poor quality of the buildings |
| 1:25.0 | and government contracts handed out to those who built them. |
| 1:29.0 | Erdogan admits that the relief efforts were too slow, |
| 1:33.0 | but rejects it was the government's fault. |
| 1:36.0 | He tries to reassure those affected, but now he is there. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

