Sunday’s result is huge personal victory for Erdogan, 61, who may now be able to secure enough support for his controversial ambitions to expand his role into a powerful US-style executive presidency. The party, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now holds 316 seats in the Turkish parliament. Add to this the deadly twin suicide bombings in Ankara – blamed on terrorists linked to the Islamic State – that killed 102 people last month, and AKP spread the word that only it could ensure stability in Turkey – which may have contributed to its victory.
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Most analysts had expected AKP to fall short of a majority again, but the preliminary results suggest it picked up millions of votes at the expense of a nationalist party and a pro-Kurdish party.
How people in Turkey are reacting to these results.
Another critic, Yasar, a 62-year-old retired laborer, told Reuters: “I’ve given up on the AKP”. However, he cautioned that “significant challenges remain” including the Kurdish problem, the need for a new constitution, eroding quality of institutions, and the need for a resumed reform zeal to improve democratic and individual rights.
Since nationwide anti-government protests and a corruption scandal around Erdogan’s inner circle in 2013, his opponents had lived in the hope that the power of modern Turkey’s most divisive leader was finally on the wane. The party’s gamble to push for snap elections instead of forming a coalition government has paid off and Turkey will return to rule under a single party.
In a statement, Erdogan said the election result showed people chose environment of stability and confidence and asked people to respect the election’s turnout.
The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold needed to claim seats, but saw a fall in support since the June vote. The Turkish Lira surged today by 5 percent against the US dollar after being one of the worst performing currencies in the world this year.
“Determining strategic sectors and reshaping incentive policies for these sectors will be a top priority for the new government”, said one of the officials.
The White House said on Monday it was deeply concerned that media outlets and journalists were subject to pressure during the Turkish presidential campaign.
But many Turks, including a few former supporters, accuse Erdogan of growing increasingly authoritarian, muzzling the media, tightening his party’s grip on the state and putting religion at the center of politics in violation of Turkey’s secular constitution.
Erdogan meanwhile said the election outcome was a message to the PKK and its allies that violence could not coexist with democracy.
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The OSCE said the “challenging security environment, in particular in the south-east, coupled with a high number of violent incidents, including attacks against party members and campaign staff, as well as on party premises, hindered contestants’ ability to campaign freely”.
