(Istanbul) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sacked the head of the national statistics agency, according to a decree issued on Saturday, after the publication of annual inflation figures.
Posted at 8:25 p.m.
The head of the National Statistics Office, Sait Erdal Dincer, has come under fire after releasing data in early January that put the annual inflation rate at 36.1%, its highest level in 19 years.
The opposition said the figure was underestimated, saying the actual increase in the cost of living was at least twice as high.
President Erdogan did not explain his decision to appoint Erhan Cetinkaya, former vice-president of the Turkish banking regulator, as the new head of state statistics in his place.
Inflation soared to more than 36% over one year in December in Turkey, a record since September 2002, due to the fall of the Turkish lira.
But President Erdogan, in an uncomfortable position eighteen months before the presidential election, continues to defend his choices.
The increase in consumer prices, more than seven times greater than the government’s initial target, at 13.58% in December alone, is explained by the drop of nearly 45% in the Turkish lira against the dollar in one year, despite the emergency measures announced by the Head of State in mid-December.
Aware of the damage caused not only to the economy, but also to his confidence rating, Mr. Erdogan had promised in early January to “bring inflation back to single digits as soon as possible”.
Because these figures are the subject of a bitter political battle: the opposition and part of the population accuse the National Statistics Office (Tüik) of knowingly underestimating the rise in prices, fueled by the economic policy of the president which has prompted the Turkish central bank to systematically lower interest rates in recent months.
Erdogan has also appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag as the new justice minister to replace veteran ruling party member Abdulhamit Gul.