Electoral Campaign in Eastern Turkey - 1

Parties largely irrelevant

The political landscape in this province is both an example of the weak party loyalty that exists in Turkey (40 percent of voters nationwide are said to vote for different parties from one election to the next) and for the continuing exploitation of tribal ties by political candidates.

Seven MPs go to Ankara

Van province has a population of about 900,000. Between 350,000 and 400,000 people will vote in the upcoming general elections. The province sends seven MPs to parliament, and the whole spectrum of parties is represented here. A total of 70 candidates from ten parties and 14 independent candidates are competing for the seats.

As in much of Turkey, most of the candidates are men. In the present parliament, there are 550 MPs, and only 24 of them are women.

2002: Two parties passed hurdle

In the 2002 elections, only the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP) had managed to pass the national hurdle in Turkey. The AKP, although it only received 34.43 percent of the votes, occupied 66.36 percent of the seats in parliament (367out of 550), while the CHP, with 19.41 percent of the national vote, occupied 32.18 percent of the seats (177).

The 10 percent election hurdle has become much-discussed in the recent presidential elections, when opposition parties within and outside parliament protested against the inordinate power of the ruling AKP. This sudden protest is particularly hypocritical because the hurdle has always served to keep pro-Kurdish parties out of parliament.

This situation becomes blatantly obvious in Van. In the 2002 general elections, the pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) received 6.14 percent of votes nationally, thus not passing the hurdle.

However, in Van, as in many other eastern and south-eastern provinces with Kurdish-majority populations, DEHAP received the most votes. In Van, for instance, DEHAP came first with 40.85 percent, followed by the AKP with 25.86 percent. The centre-left CHP came fourth with 5.15 percent after the centre-right True Path Party (DYP) with 6.48 percent. Because both DEHAP and the DYP did not pass the hurdle, the AKP ended up with six of the seven seats, and the CHP received the other.

HADEP first in 1995 and 1999

A similar situation was observable in the previous elections in 1999. Then, the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) came first with 35.71 percent, followed by the religious Virtue Party (FP) with 18.87 percent, the DYP with 11.07 percent, the centre-right Motherland Party (ANAP) with 9.76 percent and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with 8.04 percent. Again, the Kurdish-interest party did not manage to pass the national hurdle, which meant that the seats were divided between the following four parties (FP-3, DYP-2, ANAP -1, MHP-1).

In 1995, the Kurds also scored highest in Van, with 27.99 percent for HADEP, followed by 23.74 percent for the religious Welfare Party (RP). While HADEP went empty-handed, the RP was able to send three delegates to Ankara, the Turkish capital. (AG/EÜ)