Turkey looked set to return to single-party rule after the Islamist-rooted AK Party swept to an unexpected victory in elections yesterday, an outcome that will boost the power of President Tayyip Erdogan but may sharpen deep social divisions.
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The ruling Justice and Development party, or AKP, won more than 49% of the vote in Sunday’s election, nearly double that of the next party. Growing conflict with Turkey’s largest minority remains a key challenge for the new government.
“Although unexpected, AKP’s victory may be the optimal election outcome for near-term economic and asset dynamics in Turkey”, said Roxana Hulea, an emerging markets strategist at Societe Generale in London.
“Our people clearly showed in the November 1 elections that they prefer action and development to controversy”, Mr Erdogan said in a statement.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu welcomed the result, saying there were “no losers but winners”.
Speaking to thousands of people who waited for hours in the cold to hear him speak from the balcony of AKP headquarters in Ankara, he vowed to protect the rights of all of Turkey’s 78 million people.
The political landscape has changed dramatically in Turkey since June, with the country even more divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.
Security forces have been battling militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeast in a renewed surge in violence since a ceasefire collapsed in July.
The pro-Kurdish left-wing Peoples’ Demcoratic Party (HDP) also managed to re-establish its presence in the parliament by securing 10 per cent of the votes.
“Is this your understanding of democracy?” he said.
HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas said it was not a “fair election” after his party halted campaigning in the wake of the Islamic State group attacks that targeted pro-Kurdish activists. Bombings in the southern city of Suruc and the capital Ankara killed more than 100 people in early October. The party won 80 seats in the June polls.
Investors and Western allies hoped the vote would help restore stability and confidence in an $800 billion economy, allowing Ankara to play a more effective role in stemming a flood of refugees from neighbouring wars via Turkey into Europe and helping in the battle against Islamic State militants.
Turkey’s economic growth slid to less than three percent last year after levels around 10 percent five years ago, and the lira had tumbled around 25 percent since the start of 2015.
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The Turkish lira jumped on Monday morning after the results emerged.
