Powerful Turkish President: Erdogan will form a new government alone

After 97 percent of votes were counted, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won an absolute majority, NTV and CNN-Turk report, thus regaining the absolute majority it lost five months ago, reports the Patria News Agency.

Out of 550 parliamentary seats, the AKP will have 316, which is more than enough for the powerful Turkish President Recep Erdogan to form a new government alone.

The Republican People's Party (CHP, social democrats) comes in second place, followed by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP, pro-Kurdish) with a slightly worse result than in the elections on June 7.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP, right-wing) surprised, with 11.4 percent, five percentage points worse than in the previous elections.

On June 7, the AKP won 40.6 percent of the votes and lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since coming to power in 2002.

Turks turned out in large numbers at the polls for the second parliamentary elections in the last five months, hoping to reduce tensions in a country shaken by the renewed outbreak of the Kurdish conflict, the spread of the war from Syria, and the authoritarian rule of the regime.

The last polling stations closed at 5:00 PM local time.