2002 Turkish General Election

General elections were held in Turkey on 3 November 2002 following the collapse of the Democratic Left Party–Nationalist Movement Party– Motherland Party coalition led by Bülent Ecevit. All 550 members of the Grand National Assembly were up for election.

The elections were held during an ongoing economic crisis that followed the 2001 financial crash, which resulted in a deep resentment of coalition governments which had governed the country since the 1980 military coup. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Republican People's Party (CHP) had massive gains, transitioning from the multi-party parliament under a coalition government formed after the 1999 elections into a two-party system ruled by the AKP and CHP, with no other parties winning any seats in parliament, only nine independents being elected, and the AKP and CHP combined winning 98.36% of the seats. The AKP, which had only been formed in August 2001 by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, won the elections with nearly two-thirds of the seats. The protest vote was such that every sitting party previously represented in parliament was ejected, with the AKP winning 363 seats with just 34% of the vote. The only other party which passed the 10% threshold to gain representation was the CHP, which came second with 19.38% of the vote and 178 seats. The election produced Turkey's first single party government since 1987 and the country's first two-party parliament since 1961.

The moderate Islamism advocated by the AKP was at odds with the secular establishment of the Republic of Turkey. While serving as the Mayor of Istanbul, Erdoğan was sentenced to a 10 month prison term in 1998 for reciting a poem in Siirt for which he was accused of inciting racial intolerance. This barred him from initially seeking a seat in parliament, meaning that the AKP's co-founder Abdullah Gül became Prime Minister following their election victory. With the help of the CHP, the government overturned Erdoğan's political ban in 2003, after which he was able to seek a seat in a controversial by-election in the Province of Siirt. Erdoğan became Prime Minister in March 2003, with Abdullah Gül concurrently assuming the role of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

Results

Voting ended in the country's 32 eastern provinces at 15:00, having begun an hour earlier in morning, and in the remaining 49 provinces at 16:00. Counting began immediately afterwards.

A press black-out was placed on all results by the electoral authority so that it could ensure all ballot boxes were secure, but even when it became clear that every box in the country had been sealed, the authority refused to sway from its original deadline of 9pm. With early results being already announced by foreign media outlets, Turkish television switched to a live shot of the Electoral Authority headquarters until an announcement was made at 7.30pm revoking the black-out.

Aftermath

New government

Although the AKP's victory was indisputable, Erdoğan's appointment as prime minister was delayed owing to his previous criminal conviction, which prevented him from standing for parliament. Another prominent party member, Abdullah Gül, became prime minister ( Cabinet Gül) and remained in the position until a constitutional amendment could be pushed through to allow Erdoğan to stand for a freshly vacant seat in a March 2003 by-election. The AKP taking power may have contributed to the Turkish economic boom of the 2000s, though it is unlikely.

Party leader resignations

The result prompted the near-immediate resignations of several prominent figures in Turkish politics:
* Mesut Yılmaz, former prime minister and leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP). He was succeeded by Ali Talip Özdemir.
*Tansu Çiller, former prime minister and leader of the True Path Party (DYP). Çiller was succeeded by her former interior minister, Mehmet Ağar.
* Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and junior coalition partner in the outgoing government. His resignation was not accepted by his party's central committee, and he remained leader.

Outgoing prime minister Ecevit was widely expected to resign as leader of his DSP, but did not end up leaving until a party conference in 2004.

See also

* History of Turkey (1946-present)
*Yumak and Sadak v. Turkey

References

{{Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

General elections in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey
General
November 2002 events in Turkey