Die türkischen Kommunalwahlen im März 2014: Analyse und Ausblick
The March 2014 Local Elections in Turkey: Analysis and Outlook

Summary/Abstract: General provincial and local elections in Turkey were held on 30 March 2014. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in office since 2002, won the elections with 45.6 percent of the votes, surpassing the results of the 2009 elections significantly. The big cities, Istanbul and Ankara as well as Antalya, Bursa and Konya, will be governed by AKP mayors, whereas Izmir will be led by the oppositional Republican Peoples Party (CHP). Despite some irregularities these did not impact on the election results. When analysing the results in relation to the structural reform of provincial and local administration implemented since 2012 an electoral advantage for the ruling party, as was claimed beforehand, cannot be identified. However, of greater significance for voters’ behavior were the recent political developments in the country. These have placed the country in a tense situation ahead of the up-coming presidential and parliamentary elections later in 2014. As shall be argued, Turkey will not be leaving the path of modernization and reform. But this process will continue to be led exclusively by Erdoğan and his AKP. In order to make the past democratization efforts sustainable, stable political and economic conditions and the “backing” of the EU accession process are highly important contributing factors.

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