A year of elections

A long and stressful 2014 brought with it a new president, a new prime minister and a new political balance with the undefeated ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) consolidating its power in local and presidential elections against opposition parties and its erstwhile ally, the Fethullah Gülen community.

The two critical days of 2014 were March 30 and Aug. 10, the respective days of local and presidential elections. Both polls ended with a clear victory for the AKP with its indisputable leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, becoming the 12th president of Turkey, as well as the first head of the nation elected through a popular vote.

Here are some important political developments of 2014:

Local elections won by ruling AKP

On March 30, around 50 million Turkish voters cast their votes to elect their local authorities. The AKP won 45.5 percent of votes while the Republican People's Party (CHP) had 31 percent and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) had 13.6 percent of the votes. The AKP succeeded in retaining Istanbul and Ankara although the race in the latter against the CHP's candidate was neck and neck. The CHP was successful in maintaining its influence, especially in the western part of the country, while the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) won all mayoral seats in the Southeast Anatolian region. (Click here to read more about the election day as it happened)

Erdoğan wins presidential polls

The most important result of the March 30 elections was the harbinger that the AKP's candidate would get at least 50 percent of the votes in presidential polls. It was clear to see that Erdoğan fully intended to be elected as the president of the country, giving him the chance to rule Turkey until 2024 if...