Turkey’s currency, the lira, has fallen to a record low as incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured re-election, extending his rule into a third decade.
The Turkish currency fell to 20.0608 against the U.S. dollar, its lowest level ever on news of the election results.
The lira has lost 77% of its value against the American dollar over the last five years due to Turkey’s damaging monetary and economic policies, which are expected to remain in place now that Erdogan has been re-elected.
Turkey’s monetary policy focuses on growth rather than getting inflation under control, and Erdogan claims that raising interest rates increases inflation rather than lowers it.
Consequently, Turkey’s inflation rate currently sits at an annualized 46% and the country’s economy is in crisis.
Several central bank governors have quit or been fired by Erdogan in recent years over disagreements about monetary policy in the country of 85 million people.
Political analysts and market observers saw removing Erdogan from office as the best hope for improving the economy in Turkey and reigning in runaway inflation.
Those hopes have now been dashed as Erdogan won re-election in a run-off vote over the weekend. Erdogan has been president of Turkey for more than 20 years.
