General elections were held in Turkey on 12 June 2011 to elect the 550 members of Grand National Assembly. In accordance to the result of the constitutional referendum held in 2007, the elections were held four years after the previous elections in 2007 instead of five.

The result was a third consecutive victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP), with its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan being re-elected as Prime Minister for a third term with 49.8% of the vote and 327 MPs. This represented an increase of 3.2% since the 2007 Turkish general election and an 11.4% rise since the 2009 Turkish local elections. The victory was attributed to the strong sustained economic recovery after the Great Recession as well as the completion of several projects such as the İzmir commuter railway, inter-city high speed rail lines and airports in Amasya, Gökçeada and Gazipaşa (Antalya).

The Republican People's Party (CHP) also saw an increase in its popular vote share, receiving 26.0% and winning 135 seats. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) received 13.0% and won 53 seats, representing a slight loss of support since 2007. The elections were the first to be contested by the CHP's new leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who replaced Deniz Baykal in 2010.

The elections were marred by violence originating mainly from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Background Emboldened by the 2010 constitutional referendum, AKP leaders said they would create a new constitution after the 2011 elections.

On 3 March 2011 Parliament approved a ruling party proposal to set 12 June as the date for the general elections. The proposal was submitted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on 21 February and was approved unanimously in the Parliament's General Assembly. In its proposal, the AKP pointed to the appropriateness of 12 June as the election date considering the June dates for the placement test for high schools (SBS) and the university entrance exam (LYS). Seeking high voter turnout, the heat during the summer was also considered during the choice of date.

Electoral system In accordance with a law approved by Parliament last year that made changes to Turkey's election laws, Turkish voters encountered some new rules and reforms during the general election of 2011. The changes sought to bring Turkish election campaign regulations up to European standards. The age for parliamentary eligibility was reduced from 30 to 25. Wooden ballot boxes were replaced by new ballot boxes made out of hard plastic that were transparent, shatterproof, and resistant to heat. Voting booths were upgraded to a stronger, safer, and more portable model. Voting envelopes were made larger and had different colors for each matter that was being voted upon. Campaigning was now allowed until two hours after sunset. Under the previous law, campaigning after sundown was forbidden. Citizens were able to vote without official identification as long as they could provide their identity number. Anyone who prevented someone from casting their vote would receive three to five years in prison.

Turkish voters living abroad will have to wait for another election to be able to cast their votes in the countries in which they are residing due to the inability to institute electronic voting. Turkish voters abroad thus needed to cast their votes at customs gates.

Regions The number of MPs by province was redistributed according to the most recent population data. The number of deputies in Parliament for Istanbul was increased by 15, for Ankara by three and İzmir by two; Antalya, Diyarbakır, Van and Şırnak each received one more seat in Parliament. Ankara's two regions yielded 15 and 16 deputies. Istanbul, made up of three regions, elected 30, 27 and 28 deputies. İzmir, with two regions, elected 13 deputies each from both regions.

The number of MPs by province

Adana 14 Adıyaman 5 Afyonkarahisar 5 Ağrı 4 Amasya 3 Ankara, region 1, 15 Ankara, region 2, 16 Antalya 14 Artvin 2 Aydın 7 Balıkesir 8 Bilecik 2 Bingöl 3 Bitlis 3 Bolu 3 Burdur 3 Bursa 18 Çanakkale 4 Çankırı 2 Çorum 4 Denizli 7 Diyarbakır 11 Edirne 3 Elazığ 5 Erzincan 2 Erzurum 6 Eskişehir 6 Gaziantep 12 Giresun 4 Gümüşhane 2 Hakkâri 3 Hatay 10 Isparta 4 Mersin 11 Istanbul, region 1, 30 Istanbul, region 2, 27 Istanbul, region 3, 28 İzmir, region 1, 13 İzmir, region 2, 13 Kars 3 Kastamonu 3 Kayseri 9 Kırklareli 3 Kırşehir 2 Kocaeli 11 Konya 14 Kütahya 5 Malatya 6 Manisa 10 Kahramanmaraş 8 Mardin 6 Muğla 6 Muş 4 Nevşehir 3 Niğde 3 Ordu 6 Rize 3 Sakarya 7 Samsun 9 Siirt 3 Sinop 2 Sivas 5 Tekirdağ 6 Tokat 5 Trabzon 6 Tunceli 2 Şanlıurfa 12 Uşak 3 Van 8 Yozgat 4 Zonguldak 5 Aksaray 3 Bayburt 1 Karaman 2 Kırıkkale 3 Batman 4 Şırnak 4 Bartın 2 Ardahan 2 Iğdır 2 Yalova 2 Karabük 2 Kilis 2 Osmaniye 4 Düzce 3

Contesting parties On 5 March 2011 Turkey's Supreme Election Board announced that twenty-seven political parties had signed up to participate in the 12 June general elections:

Alternative Party (Alternatif Parti, AP) Communist Party of Turkey (Türkiye Komünist Partisi, TKP) Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti, DP) Democratic Left Party (Demokratik Sol Parti, DSP) Equality and Democracy Party (Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, EDP) Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi, SP) Freedom and Solidarity Party (Özgürlük ve Dayanışma Partisi, ÖDP) Great Union Party (Büyük Birlik Partisi, BBP) Homeland Party (Yurt Parti, YURT-P) Independent Turkey Party (Bağımsız Türkiye Partisi, BTP) Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) Labour Party (Emek Partisi, EMEP) Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Demokrat Parti, LDP) Nation Party (Millet Partisi, MP) Nationalist and Conservative Party (Milliyetçi ve Muhafazakar Parti, MMP) Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) New Party (Yeni Parti, YP) Peace and Democracy Party (Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi, BDP) People's Ascent Party (Halkın Yükselişi Partisi, HYP) People's Voice Party (Halkın Sesi Partisi, HAS Parti) Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP) Rights and Equality Party (Hak ve Eşitlik Partisi, HEPAR) Rights and Freedoms Party (Hak ve Özgürlükler Partisi, HAKPAR) True Path Party (Doğru Yol Partisi, DYP) Turkey Party (Türkiye Partisi, TP) Workers' Party (İşçi Partisi, İP) Young Party (Genç Parti, GP)

Nine smaller political parties decided to change their election strategy. Some of them decided to participate in the elections as independent, while others formed an alliance under one party. On 19 April 2011 the Supreme Election Board announced that ÖDP and YP could not join the 12 June general elections as they could not hand out their necessary documents on time. Thus, the number of political parties joined the elections dropped to 15.

Campaign

Justice and Development Party The large number of applications gave the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) nearly 15 million Turkish Liras in revenue ahead of the 12 June general elections. AKP, which had the most female deputies in the outgoing Parliament, planned to expand that number for the new term. Its aim was that all provinces with four to five deputies had at least one female deputy candidate during the election. The total 5,599 applications to the AKP included those of 855 female candidates and 315 candidates with disabilities. Each male applicant paid a fee of 3,000 liras, while women paid half that sum and people with disabilities had their fees waived. The applications thus brought in a total of 14.85 million liras to the party. This revenue, however, will not remain in the AKP's bank account after the elections, party leader Erdoğan said, explaining that candidates who did not make it onto the party's list will have their money returned.

Key figures who applied to be AKP candidates included Ambassador Volkan Bozkır, the head of Turkey's General Secretariat for the European Union and former Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler.

12 April 2011 was the last date for political parties to submit their list of candidate MPs to the Higher Election Board for the general elections. Prime Minister Erdoğan dismissed half his party's parliamentary deputies for this election, aiming to rejuvenate the party as he sought a third term in power. Erdoğan nominated only 146 deputies out of the 333 parliamentary seats for the ruling Justice & Development party to stand again in this election. Of the AKP's 550 candidates, 514 had university degrees. There were also 11 people with disabilities on the list. Important figures from the party kept their positions with many ministers moved to the coastal regions where the party previously attracted fewer votes.

Following a rally by Erdoğan in Kastamonu on 4 May, assailants ambushed a police convoy killing one person and wounding another. The Kurdistan Workers Party claimed responsibility for the attack after Erdoğan accused "separatists" at another rally for the attack.

Republican People's Party The 2011 general election was the first general election in which Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu participated as the leader of Republican People's Party (CHP). The former CHP leader Deniz Baykal resigned from his post in May 2010 and left the CHP with 26% of the votes, according to opinion polls. Kılıçdaroğlu announced that he would resign from his post if he was not successful in the 2011 elections. He did not provide details as to what his criteria for success were. Over 3,500 people applied to run for the main opposition party in the June elections. Male candidates paid 3,000 Turkish Liras to submit an application; female candidates paid 2,000 while those with disabilities paid 500 liras. Among the candidates were former CHP leader Deniz Baykal and arrested Ergenekon suspects such as Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal.

The party held primary elections in 29 provinces. Making a clean break with the past, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu left his mark on the Republican People's Party's 435-candidate list, leaving off 78 current deputies as he sought to redefine and reposition the main opposition. The CHP's candidate list also included 11 politicians who were formerly part of center-right parties, such as the Motherland Party, the True Path Party and the Turkey Party. Center-right voters gravitated toward the AKP when these other parties virtually collapsed after the 2002 elections. Key party figures that did not make it on to the list, criticised the CHP for making "a shift in axis."

Opinion polls

In the local elections of 2009, the ruling AKP received 39% of the votes. The second party CHP received 23% of the votes, and the third party MHP received 16% of the votes. In the run up to the general election of 2011, the polling organisations noted a growth in the popularity of the AKP. Polling organisations showed a rate between 42% and 51%. For CHP, the numbers varied between 25% and 30%. MHP was mostly shown between 10% and 14%

Results

By electoral district