Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

240 islamic political identity in turkeyFollowing the 1995 national election, the main political goal was to excludethe RP, which had won a plurality of seats in Parliament, from government (table10.1). In response to the pressures from the military, media, and major businesscorporations, 2 the two center-right parties formed a new coalition governmenton March 3, 1996. Tansu Çiller of the DYP and Mesut Yìlmaz of the ANAPagreed on a rotating prime ministerial position, despite the traditional rivalryover their similar agendas and supporters. This development persuaded someRP followers that the institutional means of change were closed to them. Thede facto closure of the system to the largest party in Parliament agitated a largesegment of the electorate, and RP deputies became excessively restive. 3Moreover, by excluding the RP in the name of secularism, the Kemalistestablishment—that is, the armed forces, big corporations that preferred stateprotectedmarkets, and some media sectors—alienated the most dynamic segmentof the population, further narrowing its social base and unwittinglyexpanding the RP’s base. Instead of seeking gradually to integrate (and thusco-opt) Islamic groups into the system, the political elite opted to preventthis “historic compromise” between the center and the periphery. Moreover,the TÜS8AD and its media networks, such as the Do:an and Sabah publishingconglomerates, constantly represented periphery and provincial bourgeoisieas “reactionary” so as to exclude them from the privatization process andgovernance. 4TABLE 10.1. Electoral results in national elections, 1987–20021987 1991 1995 1999 2002Parties % seats % seats % seats % seats % seatsCenter-rightDYP 19.1 59 27.0 178 19.2 135 12.0 85 9.55 —ANAP 39.3 292 24.0 115 19.7 132 13.2 86 5.12 —Center-leftDSP 8.5 0 10.4 7 14.6 76 22.1 136 1.21 —CHP — — — — 10.7 49 8.8 — 19.39 178SODEP 24.8 99 20.8 88 — —NationalistsMÇP/MHP — — — — 8.1 0 17.9 129 8.34 —HADEP — — — — 4.1 0 4.7 0 6.22 —Pro-IslamicR/F a SP 7.2 — 16.2 b 62 21.4 158 15.4 107 2.46 —AKP — — — — — — — 34.26 363aAfter the closure of the FP, two parties with roots in RP and FP have been formed. The AKP emerged as themost formidable force in the Parliament.bIn order to meet the required 10 percent threshold, an electoral pact among the RP, the MÇP, and a minorthird party was formed. A single list of candidates ran on the RP ticket.A dash indicates non-participation in election or no seat taken in the election.Source: High Electoral Board of Turkey (Ankara, 2002).