ISTANBUL:For a man who rarely accepts defeat, the disappointment expressed by Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan over Sunday's local elections suggests the ruling party will address its shortcomings and boost democracy.
The AK Party won 39 per cent of the municipal vote, but the results were below its 47 per cent target and the worst since it first came to power in parliamentary elections in 2002. The results are a wake-up call for a party grown comfortable in office and a prime minister allergic to criticism.
Mr Erdogan, who made the local polls a referendum on his seven-year rule, clearly misjudged voter dissatisfaction over his government’s handling of the economy, seen going into recession in 2009 after years of growth.
“We think . . . Erdogan will read the results correctly and concentrate on economic problems,” said Yarkin Cebeci, an economist at JP Morgan. “The Turkish electorate sent a clear warning to the ruling AKP, stating its dissatisfaction over the recent economic downturn.”
During campaigning, Mr Erdogan played down the effects of the global financial crisis on Turkey and blamed incompetent businessmen for rising unemployment, at a record 13.6 per cent.
The AKP failed to win key cities for which it had campaigned hard, particularly Diyarbakir in the mainly Kurdish southeast, Izmir and Adana. The party also saw its lead in the capital Ankara and in Istanbul shrink considerably.
Local elections have traditionally been important in Turkey, with governments severely handicapped if they failed to score well. The results are not expected to halt reforms but may force Mr Erdogan to seek compromises with the opposition, which may in turn strengthen democratic institutions.
Mr Erdogan has pledged to reform the constitution drafted by the military in 1982 and change the way the constitutional court works – steps that would remove some obstacles to EU membership but could revive tension with secularists who accuse him of pursuing an Islamist agenda.
Heads will undoubtedly roll as a consequence of the AKP’s poor showing, but Mr Erdogan said any changes in his cabinet would not be because of the election results.
It will now be up to Mr Erdogan to address the weakening economy and push ahead with reforms, including greater rights, as voters in the southeast clearly expressed by voting for the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party. – (Reuters)