(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with an astonishing victory, has ended a five-month interlude to his 13-year rule, leaving the Justice and Development Party (AKP) he cofounded back in control of the parliament. The results have, for now, ended a deeply nagging political imbroglio that has ground the country's growth to a halt.
The president should now be firmly in control of a host of issues ranging from the war in Syria and peace with Kurds to the restructuring of a slowing economy.
Even before the recent crises, Turkey's economy has been slowing for some time. It grew an average of more than 6% a year during the first half of the AKP's 12 years in power, but slowed to about 3% in the second half. The government has failed to reach its growth target every year since 2012, and the International Monetary Fund predicts 2.9% growth next year and 3.5% by 2020. That would put Turkey's ambition to be a $2tn economy by 2023 out of reach.
Investors have been edgy since the US Federal Reserve first signalled in 2013 that it was moving to taper its bond buying programme. Foreigners went from being net buyers of Turkish government debt to net sellers as the Fed nears its first interest rate increase in nine years.
Renewed violence between security forces and autonomy-seeking Kurds since June's inconclusive election is compounding the problem.
The election result could embolden Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister during 2003-14, who was elected president in August 2014, and the AKP, to extend policies that have already divided the country, said Inan Demir, chief economist at Finansbank. Sunday's snap poll was a gamble by Erdogan, critics say, to win back enough seats so the AKP could eventually change the constitution and give him greater presidential powers.
The party's 49% vote share is expected to see it garner 316 seats in the legislature. But it should also mean the AKP is likely to fall short of the 330 required to call a referendum on the constitution.
Despite all the criticism against Erdogan's "authoritarian ambitions and Islamist agenda", many voters still admire him for building hospitals and schools in Turkey during his party's rule, the longest period of stability since the nation adopted a multiparty system in 1946.
He remains popular among poorer Turks whose living standards have risen. Growth has averaged 5% during his reign, with foreign investors pouring about $50bn into Turkish stocks and bonds since 2006.
It's all up to the president now to chart a new inclusive course for the country's future with a pluralistic vision. He must be politically astute enough to realise that while polarisation may help win elections, it does not make it governance any easier.
Turks have given a strong message that they still would trust in the president and prefer a majority AKP government to a shaky coalition for stability and growth.
Erdogan now has a chance to live up to that trust by building a stronger and united Turkey, which is crucial to the stability and security of a region beset by conflicts.
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