Turkish government spends 1,6 billion liras for procurements before elections

Public institutions have signed a total of 17,318 contracts for the procurement of goods or services without publishing an announcement or obtaining a guarantee as of the election date has been set by the Supreme Election Council. The direct procurements amounted to 1,6 billion Turkish Liras.

Friday May 12 2023 04:46 pm

President Erdoğan is with five crony bussiness groups in which opposition reffered to as "the gang of five."

Duvar English

The Turkish government has significantly increased its procurement efforts since March 10, when the country began its preparations for the upcoming elections on May 14. In the period spanning from March 10 to May 9, the government has procured goods and services worth more than 1.5 billion Turkish Liras through direct procurement, according to daily BirGün.

The public institutions have signed a total of 17,318 contracts as part of their direct procurement efforts. The breakdown of these contracts by month shows that 8,274 were signed in March, 7,779 in April, and 1,265 in May.

General Directorate of Turkish Coal Enterprises Authority (TKİ), General Directorate of Turkish Rail System Vehicles Industry Joint Stock Company (TURASAŞ), and Ankara City Hospital Chief Physician's Office were the top three public institutions with the most costly direct procurements.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been criticized for transferring rents to its cronies. Since the party came into power in 2022, it has created a close circle of business groups that were awarded enormous amounts of tender and procurement contracts.