General elections were held in Turkey on 5 June 1977. Elections took place in the middle of a political race between the right-wing Justice Party (AP) and the left-wing Republican People's Party (CHP). With the charismatic leadership of Bülent Ecevit, the CHP managed to beat one of the symbolic figures of conservative politics in Turkey, Süleyman Demirel. Voter turnout was 72%. The CHP's victory was the zenith of left-wing votes in the Turkish political history, but there were still no capable partners for the CHP to join forces to form government with since the remainder of parliament consisted of right-wing parties not eager to form a coalition led by Ecevit. Finally, the CHP could not gain a vote of confidence. They would need to wait until 1978 to gain support from some smaller parties and independents to govern. The CHP was not able to retain power for long and soon government control passed on to the Justice Party even as the rumblings of the 1980 military coup were beginning to be felt.

Background

The 1974 Cyprus War had a significant impact on Turkish politics, including the rise of Bülent Ecevit and his political party, the Republican People's Party (CHP). Since Ecevit was the Prime Minister during the military intervention, his popularity increased significantly following the war which is one of the factors that led to CHP winning a larger percentage of the vote in the 1977 general election than in the previous election in 1973.

Results