Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has fired the head of the National Statistics Agency (Tüik), according to a decision published in the Turkish Government Gazette in the early hours of Saturday morning, following the publication of annual inflation figures.
The head of the National Statistics Agency, Sait Erdal Dinser, came under fire after the publication of data in early January that put the annual inflation rate at 36.1 percent, the highest level in 19 years.
The opposition pointed out that the figure was an underestimate, arguing that the real increase in the cost of living is at least twice as high.
Erdogan did not explain his decision to appoint Erhan Cetingaya, former vice chairman of the Turkish banking regulator, as the new head of Tüik.
Inflation soared to a one-year rate of more than 36% in December in Turkey, a record since September 2002, due to a fall in the value of the Turkish lira.
Yet the Turkish president, under pressure 18 months before presidential elections, continues to defend his choices.
The rise in consumer prices, more than seven times the government's initial target, to 13.58% in December alone, is explained by a nearly 45% drop in the value of the Turkish lira against the dollar in a year, despite emergency measures announced by Erdogan in mid-December.
Aware of the damage caused not only to the economy but also to his credibility, Erdogan pledged in early January "to bring inflation back to single digits as soon as possible."
As these have been the subject of fierce political controversy: the opposition and part of society accuse Tüik of knowingly underestimating the price rises fuelled by the Turkish president's economic policies that have pushed the Turkish central bank to systematically cut interest rates in recent months.
Erdogan also appointed former deputy prime minister Bekir Bozdag as the new justice minister, replacing veteran ruling AKP party member Abdulhamid Gul.
Source: Cyprus Times
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