1987 Turkish general election

General elections were held in Turkey on 29 November 1987. Prior to the elections, the military junta's restrictions on former politicians were lifted, allowing them to re-enter politics. Despite a reduction in its share of the vote, the Motherland Party retained its majority in parliament, gaining 81 seats. Voter turnout was 93.3%.^[1]

1987 Turkish general election

← 1983 29 November 1987 1991 →
All 450 seats in the Grand National Assembly 226 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	93.28% ( 1.01pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Turgut Özal Erdal İnönü Süleyman Demirel Party ANAP SHP DYP Last election 45.14%, 211 seats 30.46%, 117 seats – Seats won 292 99 59 Seat change 81 18 New Popular vote 8,704,335 5,931,000 4,587,062 Percentage 36.31% 24.74% 19.14% Swing 8.83pp 5.72pp New
Prime Minister before election Turgut Özal ANAP Elected Prime Minister Turgut Özal ANAP

The elections saw the return of the religious oriented base of Necmettin Erbakan and the symbol names of the politics in the 1970s, Bülent Ecevit and Süleyman Demirel. Bülent Ecevit led the Democratic Left Party as the Republican People's Party was closed down after the coup of 1980. Süleyman Demirel founded the True Path Party to challenge the power of Turgut Özal on conservative liberal votes. The elections were marked by harsh restrictions on televised publicity for the opposition parties. Unlike the 1983 elections, there was no televised debate between the presidential candidates. Only one week before the elections, political infomercials from the different parties were aired. The Social Democratic Populist Party gained the most benefit of the infomercials, as the SHP polled about 30% compared to the 18% before screening the infomercial.^[2]

Background

On 26 September 1985 a merger protocol was signed between the Populist Party (HP) and the Social Democracy Party (SODEP). As a result, both parties held extraordinary congresses and HP was renamed the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), while SODEP was dissolved and merged into the SHP. This united the left in a single party.^[3]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Motherland Party	8,704,335	36.31	292	+81
	Social Democratic Populist Party	5,931,000	24.74	99	New
	True Path Party	4,587,062	19.14	59	New
	Democratic Left Party	2,044,576	8.53	0	New
	Welfare Party	1,717,425	7.16	0	New
	Nationalist Task Party	701,538	2.93	0	New
	Reformist Democracy Party	196,272	0.82	0	New
	Independents	89,421	0.37	0	0
Total		23,971,629	100.00	450	+51
Valid votes		23,971,629	97.43
Invalid/blank votes		631,912	2.57
Total votes		24,603,541	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		26,376,926	93.28
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p258 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
2. Wuthrich, F. Michael (2015-07-28). National Elections in Turkey: People, Politics, and the Party System. Syracuse University Press. p. 191. ISBN 9780815634126.
3. Karakoç, Sedanur (2022). "Türkiye ve Sosyal Demokrasi Üzerine Bir İnceleme: Sosyal Demokrasi Partisi (SODEP)". Akademik Açı. 2 (1): 38–64.