Erdogan’s AKP Wins Majority in Turkey Vote
Local Editor
Turkey's long-dominant Justice and Development Party [AKP] scored a stunning electoral comeback on Sunday, regaining its parliamentary majority in a poll seen as pivotal for the future of the troubled country.
The party founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won over 49 percent of the vote to secure 315 seats in the 550-member parliament with nearly all votes counted, easily enough to form a government on its own.
"Today is a day of victory," a beaming Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a crowd of jubilant supporters in his hometown. "The victory belongs to the people."
He appealed for unity in the country, destabilized by bloody attacks and facing escalating concerns about the faltering economy and what critics say is Erdogan's authoritarian rule.
"Today there are no losers but winners," he said. "We are coming to rebuild a new Turkey along with each and every citizen."
The outcome was a shock to many as opinion polls had predicted a replay of the June election when the AKP won only 40 percent of the vote and lost its majority for the first time in 13 years.
Analysts said it appeared voters had turned away from nationalist and Kurdish parties.
During the election campaign, Erdogan declared that only he and his loyal Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu could guarantee security, criss-crossing the country with the message: "It's me or chaos."
The political landscape has changed dramatically in Turkey since June, with the country even more divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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