Özet:

The 31 March local elections in Turkey, the first local elections after Turkey’s transition to presidential system, was a breaking point in Turkey’s local election history. Contrary to the June 24 elections, the candidates of two party blocs run in the elections without forming alliances in a legal framework. While the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) formed the People’s Alliance, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Good Party came together under the Nation Alliance. The Democratic People’s Party (HDP) did not nominate candidates in 11 provinces and supported the candidates of the Nation Alliance. The parties in the same alliance bloc did not nominate candidates in favor of alliance members in certain electoral circles. In the ballot papers, there were only the emblem of the parties that nominated candidates. Moreover, parties joined in municipal council elections by forming joint lists where only one candidate from the same alliance run for the elections. This study empirically and comparatively analyzes the results of the March 31 local elections in terms of the dynamics of the new political space. Firstly, regarding also the results of the 24 June elections, the study focuses on how Turkey’s new political space was shaped via the alliances in the 31 March local elections. This part of the study also evaluates how pre-electoral alliances and strategic or tactical voting behavior shaped new political sphere and affected the results of local elections. Secondly, based on the People’s Alliance and the Nation Alliance, the election results of the AK Party, MHP, CHP, Good Party, and HDP and bloc politics were analyzed. This data-based comparative analysis clarifies the impact of new dynamics shaping the new political sphere on election results.

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