June 8, 2015: For the first time in 13 years Turkey’s AK party faces a challenge to form a government after losing its majority at a general election.
A sharp drop from 2011 it secured 41%, when it won nearly half of the vote.Under Turkey’s proportional representation system, this means the AKP will need to form a coalition or face entering a minority government.Securing seats in parliament for the first time 10% point was crossed by the pro-Kurdish HDP.There were jubilant scenes on the street as the party’s supporters shouted that they were the HDP and they are going to the parliament.
47-year-old Huseyin Durmaz told that it is a carnival night and they no longer trust the AKP. Early on Monday as markets reacted to the news Turkey’s lira fell to near-record lows against the dollar. The shares dropped by more than 8% soon after the Istanbul stock exchange opened.
HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas first came to power as prime minister in 2003 and had been seeking a two-thirds majority to turn Turkey into a presidential republic. He ruled out entering into a coalition with the AKP. The result is a blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans to boost his office’s powers.
In a news conference in Istanbul Mr Demirtas said that with these election the discussion of executive presidency and dictatorship have come to an end in Turkey.
