Turkey is due to hold general elections on July 22, four months ahead of schedule, in the hope of ending a political crisis over who should be the next president of the republic. The crisis threatens to derail the country’s fast growing economy and cause deep divisions among its citizens along religious and secular lines. This comes at a time when five years of robust economic growth is slowing and concern over Turkey’s ballooning current account deficit is increasing.
“Turkey enjoyed high growth rates over the past five years and it appears that growth figures will continue to be in the positive territory for a while, although the economy has started to cool off,” Özgür Altug, chief economist at Raymond James Securities – Turkey, wrote in a report on the country’s economy in April.
