ANKARA: Turkey’s AK Party swept back into office in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, defying polls and strengthening President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 13-year grip on power after a divisive campaign scarred by violence.
The Islamist-rooted party that Erdogan founded took about 49 percent of the vote and probably won 316 seats in the 550-member legislature, regaining the majority it lost in elections five months ago, according to official news agency Anadolu. The lira and the nation’s benchmark stock index jumped more than 5 percent as markets welcome an end to the political standoff.
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In his victory speech, AKP leader and interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on rivals to work with his party on a new constitution, which an adviser to Erdogan said would shift the nation’s center of power from parliament to the presidency.
Erdogan’s dominance in the Middle East’s biggest economy has polarized Turks and antagonized many allies. Since the inconclusive June vote, Turkey has resumed its war with Kurdish separatists and suffered a wave of Islamic State attacks. The violence alarmed investors, yet it appears to have persuaded voters to seek stability in a return to single-party government.
