Yesterday the Turkish people went to the polls for parliamentary elections and Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party (AKP, Justice and Development Party) won elections again. Erdogan has become the second Turkish Prime Minister in achieving three consecutive electoral wins (the first one was Adnan Menderes, executed by the Turkish Army in 1961).
Although the AKP won the absolute majority (around 50% of the votes), it did not get the qualified majority required to reform the constitution without the participation of other political forces.
The secular Republican People’s Party came in second place with 26% of the vote, while the extreme right only got 13%. Finally, the Kurdish nationalist and their party for Peace and Development also won enough votes as to get 35 MP in the Parliament.
The AKP had campaigned on the grounds of promoting a new constitution. However, Erdogan wisely acknowledged the people’s mandate when he stated:
"The people gave us a message to build the new constitution through consensus and negotiation, (…) We will be seeking consensus with the main opposition, the opposition, parties outside of parliament, the media, NGOs, with academics, with anyone who has something to say."
The CEU Weekly
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