Those Turks that gave a mandate to the AK Party for the second time with around 47 percent of the vote are composed of not only the poor and most neglected segments of society but also those who believe that the only savior of this country from its social, cultural and economic illnesses is democracy, which will pave the way for the supremacy of the rule of law. The secular elite and politically powerful military should now realize that policies that they have been pursuing for decades, such as intimidating the public through policies of fear that without their self-imposed rule this country could not survive, is nearing its end.
Those Turks who also voted for the ultra nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) as well as Turkish Kurds, both of whom will be represented in Parliament, have also given clear message that their voices should be heard at legal platforms, i.e., Parliament, which is the sole organ acting on behalf of the people in nearly all democracies.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which managed to increase its votes only a few percentages from approximately 19 percent to slightly over 20 percent and whose supporters urged its leader Deniz Baykal to resign due to the party's failure to receive a higher share of the vote, should now realize that imposition of policies inspired from non-elected bureaucrats have not done any good to the party. Nor to the nation.
The CHP's long-time policy has been to apply the secular elite's manifesto that AK Party has been pursuing a policy of deception and its real aim has been to introduce an Islamic rule to replace the secular system. This fear-based manifesto failed, as the outcome of the elections has proven.
The secular military has long been challenging Islamic-rooted AK Party's power. But common sense prevailed and Turkish voters also responded to the e-memorandum issued by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on April 27 against the government, preventing it from electing its own candidate and stating clearly that the threat of a military coup cannot intimidate them anymore.
The majority of Turks have long been suffering from economic crises that have resulted in serious poverty and unemployment, and none of the military interventions turned out to be a cure to their illnesses. Secularism can only be maintained through the meaningful improvement of the quality of people's lifestyle.
Starting from the difficult and challenging task of electing a new president, Parliament should urgently address the pending social, economic and cultural problems of the country.
Voters have given a mandate to the parties representing different ideologies and this will be a crucial test for all those parties and Kurdish independents to prove to their supporters that diversity of ideas being represented in Parliament will be used for compromise and dialogue instead of conflict.
Turkey's acceptance as a candidate country to the European Union during the 1999 Helsinki summit meeting marked a significant event for Turkey breaking taboos in the country when issues such as the role of the military in the political life and the Kurdish issue were starting to be debated.
Now Sunday's election outcome has further opened Pandora's Box.
All the contentious issues -- from the discrepancies between the poor and the rich, preparing a civilian constitution to replace the military-dictated 1982 constitution that should pave the way for the introduction of all sorts of freedoms to the Kurdish issue -- will clearly be debated in the new parliament.
Those debates will be too hot to bear, but that is how we Turks will learn dialogue and compromise, which will replace policies based on fear.
