The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which Mr Erdogan heads, won almost 50 per cent of the votes cast – its biggest electoral triumph since it came to power in 2002 – which translates into 326 seats in the 550-member Turkish Parliament. However, the AKP fell short of the number of seats required – 367 – to amend Turkey’s constitution without agreement.
Since coming to power, Prime Minister Erdogan has sought to reduce the influence of the powerful Turkish military in domestic politics – army generals have staged numerous coups in the past – as well as seeking to gain entry into the European Union while embracing Islamic values. This has raised concern among many on the liberal left that Turkey’s secular constitution may be under threat from creeping Islamification. The Prime Minister’s wife wears a headscarf in public – unthinkable in the country of Kemal Ataturk just a few years ago – while Mr Erdogan himself has pursued and developed close relations with Islamic countries such as Iran, Sudan and Senegal.
During his victory speech, he said: “No one should have any doubt – whether you voted for us or not, all of your lifestyles and beliefs are our pride. We haven’t come to punish, we have come to love.”
The prime minister then displayed his Islamist credentials by saying that the AKP’s election victory was also a victory for Muslims in the wider region. He said: “Believe me, Sarajevo won today as much as Istanbul, Beirut won as much as Izmir, Damascus won as much as Ankara, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, the West Bank, Jerusalem won as much as Diyarbakir.”
Messages of congratulations were offered to Mr Erodgan by the European Union. In a joint statement, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said the election results “further Turkey’s democratic institutions, as well as the continued modernisation of the country, in line with European values and standards.”
While the AKP’s election win provides added impetus to Mr Erdogan’s determination to change Turkey’s constitution, it does little for Ankara’s bid to join the EU. Germany, the bloc’s central player, is cautious over Turkish membership while Greece and Cyprus, which are both member states, would veto any application by Turkey to join until there is a resolution of the long-running dispute over Northern Cyprus.
