TURKEY’S Justice and Development Party (AKP) won its third successive parliamentary election on Sunday, taking 50 per cent of the vote. It has increased its vote in every election it has entered, with its leader, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, described as the “most successful leader in the democratic history of Turkey”.
The AKP however failed to win 367 seats that would have given it the ‘super-majority’ needed to reform the constitution. It took about 325 seats, which was short of the 330 seats that would have allowed it to draft the proposals for reform of the constitution and put the package to a referendum. Erdogan’s decision to raise the election threshold to 10 per cent had backfired as AKP won more votes than ever before, but fewer seats in parliament.
With unilateral constitutional reform out of his reach, Erdogan said his party would be humble and promised to co-operate with opposition parties in order to secure consensus. This came as a bit of a surprise from a prime minister known for his authoritarian style of leadership. “The people gave us a message to build a new constitution through consensus and negotiation,” he said, adding that he would seek consensus with opposition parties inside and outside parliament, NGOs and the media.
While most Turks seem to agree that the constitution, written 30 years ago following a military coup, needed to be reformed, there were serious concerns that if the AKP won the ‘super-majority’ it could have drafted a constitution that tightened its grip on power. Political commentators have often said that Erdogan’s aim was to give more powers to the presidency, a post he coveted for himself.
The election result has made things a bit more difficult for the Prime Minister, but was good for the country, because opposition parties would be able to exercise control and have a say over the reform package. Erdogan, who thrived on confrontation, indicated he would to tread more carefully, declaring that a “civilian, free constitution which embraces all parties of the society together”, would be written by the AKP and others.
An abrasive and divisive leader, Erdogan failed to keep his promise after his previous election victory, to work as a bridge builder and PM of Turks of all backgrounds. Will he be able to abandon his confrontational style and perform this role in his third term? It remains to be seen and the large Kurdish minority, whose ‘independent’ candidates won an impressive 35 seats, could benefit from Erdogan’s need to secure consensus for his constitutional reforms.
