June 2, 2015 | Memo
2015 Turkish Parliamentary Elections
FDD Research
June 2, 2015 | Memo
2015 Turkish Parliamentary Elections
FDD Research
Justice and Development Party (AKP)
- Conservative, Islamist-rooted
Republican People’s Party (CHP)
- Kemalist, secularist, social democrat
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
- Right-wing, nationalist
Democratic People’s Party (HDP)
- Left-wing, pro-Kurdish
Key issues
Presidential system: The AKP seeks to amend the constitution to replace Turkey’s parliamentary system with a presidential one. Critics accuse the party of attempting to institute authoritarian, one-man rule.
The Kurds: If the HDP fails to reach the 10% threshold, parliament will have no explicitly Kurdish representation, potentially prompting unrest in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast. But the party faces challenges, mostly due to its former connections to Kurdish separatist movements.
The economy: Inflation and the current account deficit is high; growth is low. The AKP’s longstanding image as Turkey’s economic savior has grown tarnished, and opposition parties have made economics the focus of their campaigns.
Current composition
Total seats available: 550
Total seats occupied: 535
AKP: 311
CHP: 125
MHP: 52
HDP: 29
Independents: 13
Other parties: 5 (1 deputy each)
Three magic numbers
276: Minimum seats to form a government (simple majority)
330: Minimum seats to change the constitution via referendum: (three-fifths majority)
367: Minimum seats to change the constitution unilaterally (two-thirds majority)
Seat distribution
Turkey uses a complicated system to calculate electoral results that mixes proportional, region-based representation (known as the D’Hondt method) with a nationwide 10% threshold.