Turkish police are dispersing protesters in the southeast city of Diyarbakir who are disputing the results of the latest snap parliamentary elections that gave the ruling party a clear majority, local media reported Sunday.
ANKARA, (Sputnik) – Demonstrators in the mainly Kurdish city continue clashing with police, who are said to have used water cannons and tear gas, according to CNN Turk.
With all but 1 percent of the votes counted, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is ahead with 49.4 percent. The showing gives AKP 316 out of 550 seats in Turkey’s Grand National Assembly, and allows President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to form a single-party cabinet.
Erdogan called the snap elections for Sunday, November 1 after the parties that won seats in the June election failed to form a coalition.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) is currently gaining 25.3 percent of the votes, followed by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with 11.9 percent. The Pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) has also passed the 10-percent threshold to be represented in the parliament.
Prime Minister and AKP leader Ahmet Davutoglu addressed supporters in the Anatolia city of Konya earlier, thanking them for the support “in the most difficult times.”
Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly terrorist attacks since July, prompting the country to launch a two-front campaign against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in northern Syria and militant Kurdish separatist in southeast Turkey.