1977 Turkish general election

1977 Turkish general election

5 June 1977
All 450 seats in the Grand National Assembly 226 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	72.42% (5.60pp)
First party Second party   Leader Bülent Ecevit Süleyman Demirel Party CHP AP Last election 33.30%, 185 seats 29.82%, 149 seats Seats won 213 189 Seat change 28 40 Popular vote 6,136,171 5,468,202 Percentage 41.38% 36.88% Swing 8.08pp 7.06pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Necmettin Erbakan Alparslan Türkeş Party MSP MHP Last election 11.80%, 48 seats 3.38%, 3 seats Seats won 24 16 Seat change 24 13 Popular vote 1,269,918 951.544 Percentage 8.56% 6,42 Swing 3.24pp 3.04pp
Prime Minister before election Süleyman Demirel AP Elected Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit CHP

General elections were held in Turkey on 5 June 1977. Elections took place in the middle of a political race between the right-wing Justice Party (AP) and the left-wing Republican People's Party (CHP). With the charismatic leadership of Bülent Ecevit, the CHP managed to beat one of the symbolic figures of conservative politics in Turkey, Süleyman Demirel. Voter turnout was 72%.

The CHP's victory was the zenith of left-wing votes in the Turkish political history, but there were still no capable partners for the CHP to join forces to form government with since the remainder of parliament consisted of right-wing parties not eager to form a coalition led by Ecevit. Finally, the CHP could not gain a vote of confidence. They would need to wait until 1978 to gain support from some smaller parties and independents to govern. The CHP was not able to retain power for long and soon government control passed on to the Justice Party even as the rumblings of the 1980 military coup were beginning to be felt.

Background

The 1974 Cyprus War had a significant impact on Turkish politics, including the rise of Bülent Ecevit and his political party, the Republican People's Party (CHP). Since Ecevit was the Prime Minister during the military intervention, his popularity increased significantly following the war which is one of the factors that led to CHP winning a larger percentage of the vote in the 1977 general election than in the previous election in 1973.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Republican People's Party	6,136,171	41.38	213	+28
	Justice Party	5,468,202	36.88	189	+40
	National Salvation Party	1,269,918	8.56	24	–24
	Nationalist Movement Party	951,544	6.42	16	+13
	Republican Reliance Party	277,713	1.87	3	–10
	Democratic Party	274,484	1.85	1	–44
	Unity Party	58,540	0.39	0	–1
	Workers' Party	20,565	0.14	0	0
	Independents	370,035	2.50	4	–2
Total		14,827,172	100.00	450	0
Valid votes		14,827,172	96.54
Invalid/blank votes		531,038	3.46
Total votes		15,358,210	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		21,207,303	72.42
Source: Nohlen et al.