page_title: June 2015 Turkish general election
section_title: Government reactions
hierarchical_section_title: June 2015 Turkish general election / Aftermath / Government reactions
caption_attribution_description: English: The Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in Ankara, draped in party flags featuring its leader, Ahmet Davutoğlu, on the day of the 2015 general election (7 June 2015)
context_page_description: The Turkish general election of June 2015 took place on 7 June 2015 in all 85 electoral districts of Turkey to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. This was the 24th general election in the history of the Turkish Republic, electing the country's 25th Parliament. The result was the first hung parliament since the 1999 general election. Unsuccessful attempts to form a coalition government resulted in a snap general election being called for November 2015.
  The Justice and Development Party, which had governed Turkey since 2002, lost its parliamentary majority and won 258 seats with 40.9% of the vote, clearly missing the aimed two-thirds majority for the implementation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call for an executive presidency. The main opposition Republican People's Party also fared worse than their 2011 result, and won 132 seats with 25.0% of the vote. The Nationalist Movement Party had been projected to win over many disaffected voters from the AKP. Its share of the vote increased, and the party won 80 seats with 16.3% of the vote.
context_section_description: Despite winning over 40% of the vote, the AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were largely seen as the biggest losers of the election. Erdoğan's ambitions for an executive presidential republic (which would give him substantially greater powers as a result) was deemed to have been unanimously rejected by the electorate according to the CHP and the HDP. With HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş stating that the election results had put an end to the debate over a presidential system, Erdoğan's controversial economic advisor Yiğit Bulut claimed that the results showed support for an executive presidency. Erdoğan was also regarded as a significant loser of the election due to his extensive campaigning efforts for the AKP in the run-up to the vote, under the guise of 'public opening rallies'. Erdoğan's implicit participation in the AKP's campaign made him as accountable as the party's leader Ahmet Davutoğlu for the loss of their majority, according to many politicians and media commentators.
  With the vote counting process underway and the AKP being projected to have lost their majority, Ahmet Davutoğlu appeared to accept the result and stated that the decision of the voters was the best decision. Amid speculation over whether Davutoğlu would make a victory speech, Davutoğlu confirmed his intention to do so by travelling from his hometown of Konya to the AKP headquarters in Ankara, delivering a victory speech on the building's balcony. He claimed that the AKP would continue in delivering its programme and claimed that the AKP had won the election by virtue of winning the most votes. Davutoğlu's decision to give a victory speech was widely mocked on social media due to his lack of a parliamentary majority, with many commentators putting the speech down as being made for raising the morale of AKP activists. On 9 June, Davutoğlu and his government resigned out of protocol, with President Erdoğan accepting his resignation and requesting him to stay on as Prime Minister until a new government had been formed.
  President Erdoğan also made a written statement, stating that the voters' decision could not be argued against and that all parties needed to show responsibility and sensitivity in the government forming process. His statement was seen as a sharp contrast to his perceivably polarising and partisan speeches made during the election campaign. Erdoğan's absence from the public gaze after the election, which was seen as a contrast to his frequent appearances on news channels and public rallies before the election, was also mocked.
  On 10 June, Erdoğan met former CHP leader Deniz Baykal, who was the eldest MP of the newly elected Parliament. As the eldest MP, Baykal would serve as the temporary Speaker of the Grand National Assembly until a Speaker could be elected. This raised speculation that Erdoğan was preparing to hand over the Presidency to Baykal, who would become interim President (as Speaker) should Erdoğan relinquish his post.
caption: AKP headquarters in Ankara, draped in party flags featuring leader Ahmet Davutoğlu in preparation for the general election
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