Turkey's elections in 2007current issues, food for thought, background information2007 has the potential to be an unusual year for Turkey. Turkish political calendar will face crucial double elections. Election of the President In May 2007, the constitutional court annulled the presidential election on a technicality and stopped the government's candidate (Abdullah Gul) from taking office, so the ruling AKP moved to change the system and let the people, not parliament, choose the president. The changes are now expected to be put to a referendum in mid-October. General elections Support for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) rose from 34% in the 2002 election to nearly 47% Sunday, according to preliminary results. It marks the first time in 52 years that Turks have voted an incumbent party back into power with even more support than before. AKP 46, 6 % (341 seats) CHP 20, 85 % (112 seats) MHP 14, 29 % (70 seats) Independent candidates (26 seats) |
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