That's just great. Those who argued that democracy is not all about victory in the elections now say that the people have delivered a crucial message. That's wonderful. Those who were prone to promote a "democratic dictatorship" in this age now say political change is possible through democratic means. Thank God we have seen these days. Those who were promoting military coups in the past now say the people have spoken out when the military chose silence. We have to celebrate this improvement. History has proven once again that those who maintain that the people cannot be allowed to choose their rulers are simply wrong. The people certainly delivered some crucial messages on March 29 -- not only to the AK Party, but also to other political actors. It would not be proper to celebrate or belittle the election results, because they speak for themselves. Those who fail to consider the message of common sense will have to pay for it dearly. Everybody is now giving advice to the politicians and calling on them to read the message carefully. This is actually good. But have the people only sent a message to the politicians?
No. It is wrong to think that the election results were a message to politicians alone. There was rage and reaction in the July 2007 elections and the AK Party received 47 percent of the vote. The reason for that dramatic increase in support for the AK Party was not just the row between the opposition and the ruling party. An alliance had been formed to bring the AK Party administration down. This alliance resorted to anti-government rallies and mobilization of the masses to polarize the nation. The alliance also took the Democrat Party (DP) and the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) under control and paralyzed Parliament. A group of military officers posted an e-memorandum in the middle of the night on the General Staff Web site. Constitutional Court members were told to make decisions that they did not support and could not justify. A former lawyer named Sabih Kanadoğlu worked hard to undermine justice and plot a grand scheme in which the Constitutional Court required the presence of 367 deputies in the plenary session of Parliament convened to elect the president.
Unfortunately, the media aligned itself with pro-junta actors while all this was happening. The opposition parties were reluctant to make any statement condemning these anti-democratic moves. They were even expecting a green light from the military so that they could take over. What happened? The people reacted unexpectedly. They proved that they would not allow the military or civilian bureaucracy to seize their power of will and choice. Those who were hostile to popular choice back then are now praising the decision of the people. This is just fine. However, it should be recalled that a similar process of intervention will result in similar developments.
If you take a look at what has been said about the election results, you can conclude that those who held that the AK Party could not be defeated were wrong. Like any other party, it can lose support. However, opposition based on anti-democratic methods will strengthen it. Meanwhile, you should note that the people have not given up on the AK Party yet. It still has 40 percent of the nation's support. Besides, the entire country is suffering from the global economic crisis. Despite this, the AK Party still got 40 percent of the vote. This is an unusual success in Turkish political history. Everyone is talking about the AK Party's loss. From one perspective, this is true; it lost support compared to the results of the 2007 elections. However, there is no serious difference between the current results and the previous local elections in 2004. Any analysis ignoring the fact that anti-democratic interventions were the primary reason for the AK Party's striking victory in 2007 will be insufficient.
Politicians should learn a lesson from this election; this is true. But the military should also draw lessons from it. The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya, members of the judiciary acting like politicians and promoters of coups should also consider these results. If nobody learns a lesson from this process, Turkey will still see party closures and e-memorandums that undermine our democracy. And if the opposition relies on anti-democratic methods to get rid of the ruling party and insult the values of the people, believe me, in that case, even 47 percent will not be sufficient.
