Twenty Years of the AKP in Power in Turkey. Part 1: An Electoral Retrospective
Turkey’s AKP (Justice and Development Party) has proved to be an electoral phenomenon. In 2002, just 16 months after its foundation, the party swept to power in its first electoral contest, winning over one-third of the popular vote. For the next 16 years, the AKP’s national election scores never fell below 40% and in several contests, approached half the total number who voted. The party prevailed at all levels, coming first in presidential, parliamentary and local elections, as well as winning two referendums. For over two decades, the AKP has remained continually in power, although since 2015 this has been achieved through an alliance with the MHP (Nationalist Movement Party).
Within a decade of its first appearance, the AKP had transformed Turkey into a predominant party system. A few years later, in a growing climate of competitive authoritarianism, it stage-managed a process of regime change through the ballot box, establishing an all-powerful executive presidency. It was not until May 2023 that the party’s electoral hegemony faced a major challenge, when the AKP was confronted for the first time by a united opposition.
Understanding the electoral dynamics of the AKP’s period in power requires some essential background. To further its mission of deepening our knowledge about the politics of Europe’s southern region, this journal aims to provide systematic analysis of all major popular votes in the countries we cover. The collection offers a deep dive into the South European Society & Politics archive on Turkish elections since 2002. Our retrospective offers in-depth coverage of the AKP’s electoral record, covering all six national parliamentary contests, two presidential polls, two constitutional referendums and three local government elections. Our articles by leading Turkish scholars show how the party first emerged as and then remained a consistent election winner. It also provides food for thought about the AKP’s future prospects.
Edited by
Susannah Verney(National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)
Anna Bosco(University of Florence, Italy)
Senem Aydın Düzgit(Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey)