Electoral Success of AKP in Turkey: The Re-emerging of Political Islam in Europe

-By Dr. Salithamby Abdul Rauff-



The political Islam has reasserted its presence once again in socio-political order in Europe by the outcome of the recent parliamentary elections in Turkey.   A steady rise of political Islam in their capitals is apparently not tolerable to certain sections of societies – policymakers, politicians and media people- in the west today.  Therefore, the media in America and Europe dubbed the victory Turkey’s Erdogan led Justice and Development Party (AKP)  gained in the November 6 parliamentary polls as “shock “and  a “ black day for Turkey.”

Turkey is the only Muslim country in the Europe. It is a country with some 78 million population, 54.1 million voters, 83 provinces and a 550- member parliament.  There are four principal political parties in the country in representing Turkey’s democracy and its political spectrum.  Republican People’s Party (CHP), Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) are them. All four parties have been serious rivals with different political ideologies and values that are not compatible to each other.  The virtually century-old CHP pursues a secularist politics, introduced in the country in 1923 by Kemal Ataturk, to rule Turkey.  The politics of the MHP seems Turk- nationalism. The HDP is advancing a liberalist politics for Turkish people. The AKP, established in 2001, has been driven by a political Islam. The party wants Turkey to be governed with equality, freedom, justice, rights and humanity underpinned by Islamic principles and values.  

Turkey saw two parliamentary elections in just five months this year. The first poll happened in June and its results were extremely complicated. None of these four parties could form a government alone as none of them had won a majority in that election, 276 of 550 seats. They could not also form a coalition government because they could not reach a consensus for this as a result of sharp differences between their political visions and values in governing the country. This political stagnation with lack of majority for any party prompted a snap election, which took place five months later on November 1.  

Opinion makers and the media in the west categorically concluded in their findings that the AK party led by Ahmet Davutoglu would lose the poll. The November 1 election in Turkey produced different results disproving their conclusion. Turkish people have overwhelmingly chosen the AK party in this election.  The AKP has collected around 50% of votes in this election. This amount has increased the party’s votes to 10% this time compared to the June election, in which the party had secured 40% votes.  In other sense, the AKP has received 4.5 million votes further in this poll compared to the previous election that happened in June. Although the party has failed to get a single seat on its behalf from 3 of 83 provinces, it has overall won 316 members from across the country to parliament in this election. This number has granted a majority for the AKP to form a government alone. 

There were some reasons for the AK party to earn this electoral victory. The AKP had done many things that benefitted people and country in its 13 years in power.  The party had turned Turkey into the sixteenth economic power of the world by its viable economic policies. It had brought unemployment rate of the country to less than 10%. The AKP had transformed the country’s national carrier Turkish Airlines into the Europe’s first class airlines service. Apart from these, the AK party had also undertaken some key reforms that were essential for the future of the country. The party had eliminated unnecessary intervention of the military that was overthrowing democratically elected governments in the country in several instances. The AKP had freed the people from the clutch of secularist rule of the country which was confronting people’s wishes, faiths, values and rights in holding what they wanted in their life. Today, in Turkey, Muslim students and teachers in universities who wish to wear Islamic dress go to their campuses with headscarf.  Wine shops cannot be operating near worship and public places in the country today.  The AK party has adopted a foreign policy of “zero dispute with neighbours”, This diplomatic policy has made Turkey today a regional player working for peace and social solidarity among the countries in the region.   These are the visible achievements brought Turkey and its people by the AKP in the past. 

Today, Turkish people has once again placed their faith in the AK party and granted an overwhelming mandate for it to rule them. People are aware enough that the AKP is a political party that is rooted with political Islam. They have also well known that the party is trying to lead the country based on Islamic principles and values, given its recent political and social reforms to the country. However, People of Turkey feel (that):   it is the AKP to bring them a political, economic and social stability today. It is the AKP to transform their country into one of the world’s economic powers. It is the AKP to make their country an influential player in their region. Therefore, if the AKP brought all these achievements by a political Islam, they (Turkish people) want political Islam to lead Turkey. Today, they have given a mandate for that in this election.

Because it is a political party that is adhered to Islamic principles and values, the Europe should not undermine AKP’s this electoral victory.  Rather, it should respect this democratic verdict of Turkish people.  Accepting this popular mandate, European Union should accommodate Turkey as one of its member countries.  AKP’s victory has delivered an unequivocal message to Europe (that):  Political Islam is no longer incompatible with your values and you should recognise Islam also as another religion like other religions for Europe.