Turkish voters went to the polls, on Sunday, in the most disputed election in Turkey for the last 12 years. As a result, President Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost their majority, in Parliament, as the Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) gained just over 10% of the vote.
President Erdogan and Prime-minister Ahmed Devotoglu's AKP party now holds 41% of the vote, while the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) took 25%, the National Movement Party (MHP) registered 16% and the Kurdish People's Democratic Party took 13% of the vote.
The votes for the Great Union Party (BBP) and Felicity Party (SP) as well as other independent candidates represented under 3% combined and were redistributed, according to Turkey's form of proportional representation electoral system.
The change showed the political value of Kurdish swing votes across central Turkey but most notably in the South East where the HDP party made its most significant gains. On Friday, bombs exploded at a major HDP political rally, in South Eastern largely Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, killing 2 and wounding 100 of its supporters. Although the blasts were largely blamed on Turkish nationalists, PM Ahmed Devotoglu stated that he and his party condemned the violence, while giving a speech in a neighbouring province.
President Erdogan had stated that no party has the right to rule without a majority, in line with the Turkish constitution, however no statements have been made on who the AKP would be ready to form a coalition with. The silence from the AKP regarding their plan of action has prompted some commentators in Turkey to start 'a clock on tick counter' measuring how long President Erdogan is publicly silent.
There is uncertainty on whether political tensions with the Kurdish community will resurface, on a wide scale, following the bomb blasts in Diyarbakir. The AKP denounced the attack but the Government, including President Erdogan and PM Devotoglu, sent forces into Syria to relocate an 800 year old medieval tomb of Suleyman Shah.
The medieval tomb is one of the symbols related to the first Ottoman Sultan. The move has been regarded as evidence of the nationalistic tendencies of the AKP, described by some as 'neo-Ottoman', and intimately tied with the conservative aspirations of the AKP to make women 'more respectable' and ban the domestic consumption of alcohol.
While many in Turkey will be happy the AKP no longer has 'free reign' to pursue this 'neo-Ottoman' and conservative line, with hegemony, it's very possible that public tensions and political instability will ensue, especially considering the recent bomb attack.
This has been reflected in the stock markets as President Erdogan's silence and failure to announce a concrete coalition has led to speculation that Turkey may face instability over the election results.
The Lira dropped to a new low in relation to the US dollar and the Turkish stock index fell by 8%. Meanwhile, shares in the riot-truck manufacturer Katmerciler, owned by previous AKP deputy Ismail Katmerci, fell by 19%.
