During his tenure as prime minister from 2003 to 2014, when he became president, Erdogan alienated a growing segment of the population, with many resenting his authoritarian-style leadership and efforts to impose Islam on the country’s traditional secular democracy.
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Security was high in Turkey during the election.
Turkey is a key US ally in the fight against Islamic State and, since it hosts more Syrian refugees than any other nation in the world, a crucial player in efforts to end the war in Syria and resolve Europe’s massive immigration crisis. His AK Party won just under 50% of the vote, far exceeding the expectations even of party insiders and giving it a clear majority of around 317 seats in the 550-seat parliament.
“The adoption of a new constitution is very important for Turkey, as the current one doesn’t correspond to the interests of citizens and the state”, said the source.
The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold needed to claim seats, but saw a fall in support since the June vote.
But critics say Erdogan capitalised on public fear to regain a majority.
Meanwhile the White House has voiced displeasure at the “intimidation” of Turkish journalists during an election that bolstered the already strong hand of its longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The snap polls were necessary since elections in June had thrown up a hung parliament with AKP losing its previous majority.
There are also fears that the political polarisation stoked by President Erdogan could deepen and a clampdown on free speech worsen as the AK Party feels emboldened.
The main opposition social democrats won 25 percent of the vote while nationalists and a pro-Kurdish party won 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively. The most likely explanation is the wave of violence and particularly the deadly bombings of the last four months, and the government’s promise to fight terrorism whatever its form, with the Kurds being one of the groups that the government regards as terrorist.
Under Turkey’s current constitution, Erdogan has to remain independent but he has argued that the country’s current challenges require a strong government rather than a coalition and has openly campaigned for a constitutional change to give the president’s office more powers.
Erdogan called for a new election after Davutoglu failed to form a coalition with any of the three opposition parties in parliament after the June vote.
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Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, a newspaper critical of the government, warned about an AKP election victory on Sunday, saying, “we have to brace ourselves for a period of heightened repression”.
