A report prepared by the opposition Republican People's Party in Turkey has indicated an increase in suicide rates in the country during the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to the report reviewed by the party's vice president, Gamze Akkuş İlgezdi, there has been a 48% increase in suicide cases under the AKP's governance. The Turkish newspaper "Zaman" cited İlgezdi as saying, "At least 65 citizens die each week in this one-man rule system." The report attributed 38% of the suicide cases in Turkey to economic reasons during the period from 2017 to 2019, with 232 individuals committing suicide in 2017 due to economic motivations, rising to 312 in 2019.
The report also showed that while 2,030 people took their lives for various reasons in 2002, this number increased to 3,406 in 2019. The statistics mentioned in the report indicate that between 2017 and 2019, 9,916 people committed suicide, while the figure reached 53,425 during the period from 2002 to 2019.
The Republican People's Party is the oldest political party in Turkish history, established in 1919 during the Sivas Congress, and serves as the main opposition in the Turkish parliament. The party describes itself as a "modern social democratic party committed to the principles and values of the founder of the Turkish Republic." The Republican People's Party is also credited with founding the modern Turkish Republic.
