Istanbul---Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority in Sunday's closely-fought elections, bringing down the curtain on 13 years of single-party rule.
Here are key events in the party's history since it first came to power in 2002:
- 2002 -
The AKP scores its first electoral victory after years of political instability and an unprecedented financial crisis. The victory sets off alarm bells among the secular establishment that fears the Islamic roots of AKP members.
- 2003 -
Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes over from his close ally Abdullah Gul as prime minister.
- 2004 -
The AKP, which wants to start accession talks with the European Union, launches a massive range of democratic reforms, such as allowing Kurdish language broadcasts on public television.
- 2005 -
Negotiations between Turkey and the EU formally begin. The process remains stalled owing to disputes over the divided island of Cyprus and the reluctance of many European countries to welcome a Muslim-majority nation of 75 million people.
- 2007 -
In the spring, a political crisis erupts surrounding the election of a new president after the AKP announces that foreign minister Gul is its candidate. The army cites concerns over secularism, triggering early elections.
In July the AKP wins the legislative vote. Erdogan remains prime minister and a month later, parliament elects Gul as president. His wife wears the Islamic headscarf -- a first -- as does the spouse of Erdogan.
The government progressively brings the army to heel.
- 2008 -
The AKP initiates a constitutional amendment to lift the ban on the Islamic headscarf at universities. Deemed anti-secular, it is negated by the constitutional court which sought a political ban on the AKP, which itself narrowly escapes a dissolution by court order. The headscarf ban is progressively eased from 2010.
- 2011 -
In June, the AKP wins its third consecutive election victory. Erdogan begins a third term as prime minister, the last mandate according to AKP rules.
- 2012 -
On June 22 Syria shoots down a Turkish fighter jet. Other incidents follow. Ankara had broken off relations with the Damascus regime since the start of the conflict there in March 2011, supporting the rebels and admitting Syrian refugees -- who number almost two million in 2015.
- 2013 -
In March, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, announces a ceasefire. The level of unrest has fallen dramatically in recent years as the government seeks a final peace deal with the PKK.
In May, a group of people demonstrate against government plans to redevelop a park near Istanbul's Taksim square. The protest quickly grows into wider nationwide demonstrations against Erdogan, leaving eight dead and thousands injured after a brutal police crackdown.
In November, a feud emerges between Erdogan and exiled influential Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
In mid-December, the government becomes engulfed in a corruption scandal with the arrests of key allies of Erdogan.
- 2014 -
The authorities retaliate by arresting thousands of police and prosecutors believed to be linked to Gulen and introducing curbs on the judiciary and the Internet.
The AKP wins key local elections in March.
But in May, an unprecedented mine disaster that claims 301 lives sparks new anti-government protests, which are violently repressed.
In August Erdogan wins the presidential election.
On October 17 Turkish prosecutors drop a case against more than 50 people accused in the corruption probe.
- 2015 -
The AKP wins the most votes in closely-fought legislative elections on June 7, but loses its parliamentary majority and will need to form a coalition.
The result signals a significant defeat for Erdogan, who would have needed his party to win two-thirds of the 550 seats to change the constitution and create the presidential system he yearns for.
AFP
