The atmosphere in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir is one of anger and disappointment, writes Constanze Letsch.
The leftist, pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP) lost points in many provinces in Turkey, including in the metropolis where the party lost one seat to the AKP.
Protesters clashed with the police close to the HDP headquarters while votes were still being counted, with police using water cannon and teargas.
In a small teahouse close to the party headquarters, several men silently watched election result being counted on television.
“I cannot believe this,” said one retired teacher of 59. “I feel heartbroken. [The AKP] steals and kills, they put pressure on everyone, they muzzle the press, but they still win. I have lost faith in this democracy.”
With 95% of votes counted, the AKP won almost 50% of all votes, according to the state news agency Anadolu. The main opposition Republican People’s party (CHP) stood at 25.2 percent, smashing all possibilities of a coalition government. The HDP scraped over the unusually high threshold of 10% with 10.6 percent of all votes, down from 13% in the 7 June election.
Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu lauded the unexpected electoral success as a victory for democracy.
Close to the square of the local court in Diyarbakir, where votes were counted, a group of women, all of whom had stood watch at ballot boxes throughout the day, expressed their anger over incoming results.
“We all knew that [the AKP] would win again,” said Hatice, 50, the head of a small cosmetics company in Diyarbakir. “Why else did [Turkish president Recep Tayyip] Erdogan insist despite everything on snap elections? Now we are afraid that the pressure will increase.”
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