March Polls: Business Hub and Currency Crisis

march polls: The AKP has demanded recounts in both cities. ; Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is Erdogan's son-in-law, is expected this week to announce to jittery foreign investors the structural reforms he hopes will revive an economy plagued by high inflation and a fragile currency, according to The Japan Times. State-owned Anadolu news agency said the announcement will be made Wednesday. Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party AKP in power nationally since 2002, lost control of the capital, Ankara, and the business hub of Istanbul in the March 31 polls, initial results showed. After a currency crisis last year that saw the lira lose nearly 30 percent of its value, economists say Turkey needs to make long-term commitments to increase exports, relieve debt-laden companies and free up the central bank to do its job. But many analysts are skeptical about the chances for a comprehensive reform plan, especially after the elections, and fear the AKP will opt instead for short-term stimulus measures that fail to tackle, and may even exacerbate, deeper weaknesses. Erdogan, who campaigned hard ahead of the vote, said on election night the AKP will now refocus on the economy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.