Turkey's historic snap elections for both the Parliament and president, held on June 24, was won by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) securing over 52 percent. This represents a momentous victory for Turkey's democracy. A victory higher than what President Erdoğan achieved back in 2015. This win bestows the president with a wide-ranging mandate and keeps him in power till 2023, which historically marks the centenary of the Turkish Republic`s founding.
As many mature democracies grapple with achingly low voter turn-out and apathy, e.g. Brexit, Turkey's electorate bucked the trend, as an admirably astonishing 87.5 percent of Turkey's citizenry keenly exercised their democratic rights and took to the ballot box. Such a high voter turn-out is impressive for the most mature of democracies and bears tribute to the "ownership" of democracy which Turkey's resilient citizens feel.
In the end, opposition parties, despite broad coalitions and their full efforts, showed neither the spine, stomach nor the strategy for contesting power outside the remit of elections, whereas the AK Party kept galvanizing support from the masses, far and wide, stretching from Turkey`s heartland to the coastline.
President Erdoğan's victory implies that Turkey, a strategic NATO partner and a vital interlocutor between Europe and Asia, will evolve from a U.K. Westminster-style parliamentary system to a more French and U.S. style powerful presidential structure, reinforcing the 2017 referendum.
Despite internal fissures and a party split, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) performed unexpectedly well at 11.5 percent, managing to retain their votes intact compared with the 2015 election. The MHP's Devlet Bahçeli, is yet again President Erdoğan's ally in Parliament, retaining control of Turkey's 600 seat legislature.
Undeniably a lot of "tactical voting" took place, for instance the MHP ate into the AK Party's vote bank to safeguard their position whereas the newly formed Good Party (İP) ended up taking a larger slice from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) then it was able to wrest away from the MHP.Disingenuous cynics who decry the electoral outcome as leading to "one-man rule" must remember that the MHP`s stellar performance bolsters it's formidable bargaining power in the coalition with the AK Party. Without the MHP, the AK Party would have no majority in Parliament. The MHP now wields the authority to exert credible checks and balances over the AK Party, just as congressional oversight over the president in the U.S. With the MHP keeping tabs on the AK Party, we are likely to witness healthy checks and balances in a promising new term.
Turkey's electoral outcome also bodes well for minorities and diversity, as Selahattin Demirtaş and his Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Meral Akşener's İP, appealed to a conservative nationalist voter base. Both the HDP and İP passed the minimum 10% electoral threshold to get into Parliament.Muharrem İnce's CHP securing 30 percent bears testimony to the vitality and healthy competition during these elections. İnce energized the opposition, electrifying voters with fiery rhetoric, appealing to a wide base.
Opposition party members were quick to challenge the electoral figures issued by the state-owned Anadolu Agency. However, a more sound and sober analysis by the independent nongovernmental Fair Election Platform's revealed extremely similar tallies with the Anadolu Agency`s figures.
Despite what misleading naysayers would have you believe, Turkey's June 24 elections were indisputably free and fair, as more than 600 international journalists from over thirty-four countries kept their discerning eyes on the polls whereas over 400 independent observers from eight countries monitored the entire electoral process – from inception to completion.
Turkey's new government's challenge remains to fully absorb and integrate four million Syrian refugees, which has thus far been accomplished with exemplary humanity. President Erdoğan could now could ease tensions with the EU and U.S. and further intensify a promising geostrategic reset eastwards with the Central Asian Republics, the Gulf and South Asia as the future unfolds.