Turkey's Ruling Party Loses Parliamentary Majority

Turkish media reports indicate that according to the results of 98 percent of the votes counted in the parliamentary elections, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has obtained 40.8 percent of the votes. If this vote count result is officially confirmed, the ruling party, which supports President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will not be able to achieve the minimum number of seats necessary to form a new government and will have to participate in a coalition government. The pivotal parliamentary elections in Turkey were held on Sunday, June 7 (17 Khordad). According to 'CNN Türk', the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has also secured about 13 percent of the votes. This party will enter the Turkish parliament for the first time by achieving the required threshold. An official from the HDP stated on Sunday that the party is likely to secure 80 seats in the Turkish parliament. Selahattin Demirtaş, the leader of the HDP, announced on Sunday evening at a press conference in Istanbul that his party will not participate in a coalition government with the AKP. Demirtaş stated that this election has ended discussions about changing the parliamentary system to a presidential and dictatorial one in Turkey. The results of this parliamentary election are crucial for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling AKP, as this party aimed to change the parliamentary system to a presidential one. According to the Associated Press, it was previously expected that the AKP would outperform its rivals in this election. However, given the results obtained, this party will no longer be able to make changes to the political system and the constitution. The report adds that all attention is now focused on the leftist pro-Kurdish HDP, which managed to secure over 12 percent of the votes and meet the 10 percent threshold required to enter parliament. According to Reuters, the AKP secured 49.8 percent of the votes in the 2011 elections. The Associated Press reports that the number of eligible voters in Turkey and abroad is 55 million, and if the AKP could obtain at least 330 seats, it would be able to approve a referendum to implement its desired constitutional changes. However, if this party obtained an absolute majority of at least 367 seats, equivalent to two-thirds of the parliament, it could implement these changes without holding a referendum and solely through parliamentary approval. The Islamist AKP seeks to increase presidential power in Turkey, and critics of Erdoğan say that the Turkish president wants to enhance his personal power. Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu announced on Sunday the arrest of a suspect in connection with the explosions on Friday at an HDP rally in Diyarbakır. Two people were killed and many others injured in the two explosions at that rally.