DIVIDED GOVERNMENT IN TURKEY MAY PREVENT AUTHORITARIAN HEGEMONY

June 30, 2015 | by Mustafa Akyol

Turkey’s general elections on June 7 opened a new chapter in the nation’s democratic history. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since first gaining power in 2002. This has not only opened a new era of possible coalition governments, it also marks a major step backward for the authoritarian ambitions of AKP leader President Tayyip Erdoğan, who had hoped to secure a major electoral victory that would give him the mandate to introduce a new constitution tailor-made for himself.