Turkey's election system becomes graveyard for political parties
Turkish political parties are a numerous and colorful lot, but the four major parties currently represented in parliament will be the only real contenders in the June 7 legislative elections. According to official figures released March 31, no fewer than 97 parties are active today. The leaders of the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup had outlawed all political parties after taking over, so the parties today were all founded in the years since the coup. The 13-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has seen a real boom in parties, with 57 new ones established since 2002.
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