Turkey: opposition leader refuses to pay power bills in protest at price hikes

Turkey’s main opposition leader has said that he will not pay his power bills until President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withdraws recent price rises, Reuters has reported. The president’s ruling party slammed the move on Thursday as a provocation amid growing discontent over surging inflation.

In January, inflation in Turkey jumped to nearly 50 per cent after a currency crash late last year triggered by Erdogan’s unorthodox low interest rate policy, raising the cost of living for Turks already struggling to make ends meet. In response, the government has raised the minimum wage by 50 per cent, but also increased the prices of gas, power, petrol and road tolls to account for import price volatility.

“I will not pay any of my electricity bills from today until Erdogan withdraws the price hikes which he signed on 31 December,” said Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu overnight. In a video released on his Twitter account, Kilicdaroglu also called for a reduction in the value-added tax imposed on power bills to 1 per cent from 18 per cent.

Electricity prices were raised by as much as 125 per cent for high-demand commercial users and by around 50 per cent for lower-demand households at the beginning of January. The soaring prices have hit Erdogan’s opinion poll ratings ahead of elections set for no later than June 2023. The government says credit, exports and investment will help the country weather inflation.

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According to a deputy chairman of Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, Hamza Dag, Kilicdaroglu’s move was “provocative” and part of a years-old destructive role played by the opposition. “This action amounts to a provocation, an attempt to create chaos,” Dag told broadcaster CNN Turk when asked whether the people of Turkey might follow his lead and not pay their bills. “I don’t believe there will be such an outcome.”

He reiterated government comments that Ankara was working on efforts to address public concerns over energy price rises, which he said reflected global developments. “We repeatedly say that our citizens should be affected by this as little as possible.”

Kilicdaroglu’s announcement came after shopkeepers, city councils and a religious community group spoke out this week about the rising energy bills. Social media posts showed that some restaurant owners have posted notices on windows highlighting ballooning electricity bills, while Turkey’s Alevi religious minority decided not to pay power bills for their places of worship.