Turkey's AK party faces a challenge
to form a government after losing its majority at a general election for
the first time in 13 years.
It secured 41%, a sharp drop from 2011, when it won nearly half of the vote.
Under
Turkey's proportional representation system, this means the AKP will
need to form a coalition or face entering a minority government.
The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold, securing seats in parliament for the first time.
There
were jubilant scenes as the party's supporters took to the streets
chanting "we are the HDP, we are going to the parliament".
"It is a carnival night," 47-year-old Huseyin Durmaz told AFP. "We no longer trust the AKP."
Turkey's lira fell to near-record lows against the dollar early on Monday as markets reacted to the news.
Shares dropped by more than 8% soon after the Istanbul stock exchange opened.
HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas ruled out entering into a coalition with the AKP.
The result is a blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans to boost his office's powers.
He
first came to power as prime minister in 2003 and had been seeking a
two-thirds majority to turn Turkey into a presidential republic.
"The
discussion of executive presidency and dictatorship have come to an end
in Turkey with these elections," Mr Demirtas told a news conference in
Istanbul.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said: "The winner of the election is again the AKP, there's no doubt."
But he added: "Our people's decision is final. It's above everything and we will act in line with it."
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul
The
AKP has polled worse than it ever feared and lost its majority.
President Erdogan will be unable to change the constitution and extend
his powers.
It's a stark contrast with the HDP, which gambled to
run as a single party for the first time, hoping to cross the 10%
threshold. It paid off, gaining a significant voice for the Kurdish
minority on the national stage.
It succeeded by appealing beyond
the Kurds, drawing in leftists and staunch Erdogan opponents with its
message of equality, gay rights and environmental concerns.
This could be the start of a new political era here; a major setback for a president who has polarised this nation.
In
a volatile Middle East, Turkey matters greatly - and so the path it
takes, the nature of its democracy and the leaders it produces, all have
implications far beyond its borders. Turkey's least predictable election
With nearly all the votes counted, the AKP looks likely to win 258
seats in parliament, 18 fewer than it requires for a majority.
The
Republican People's Party (CHP) looks likely to be the second largest
party, as in the previous parliament, polling around 25% of the vote.
In
third place is the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on 16.5%, with the
People's Democratic Party (HDP) in fourth place with 13%.
The HDP is expected to finish with 75 to 80 seats after attracting votes beyond its Kurdish support base.
Who are the HDP?
The People's Democratic Party was founded as a pro-Kurdish party in 2012
There are 15m Kurds in Turkey - or 20% of the population
The party has since attracted support across the left
It had the only openly gay candidate in Turkey's elections
A higher proportion of women ran for the HDP than any other party
Kurds, women, gays put faith in upstart Turkish party Many
turned out to vote in the HDP's heartland of Diyarbakir, two days after
a bombing in the eastern city killed two people and injured 200 more.
The
MHP's leader Devlet Bahceli did not rule out the possibility of
entering a coalition government, but said the results represented the
"beginning of the end for the AKP".
Once viewed as invincible,
President Erdogan's party has been criticised in recent years for its
clampdown on free speech and its growing authoritarianism.
Turkey's governing AK party is on course to lose its parliamentary majority, early projections suggest.
They also suggest the pro-Kurdish HDP is set to cross the 10% threshold, securing seats for the first time.
With 90% of the vote counted, the AKP had 42% of the vote, according to Turkish TV stations.
If
confirmed, the result would end the AKP's 13-year single-party rule,
and upset President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans to boost his office's
powers.
President Erdogan, who first came to power as prime
minister in 2003, has been seeking a two-thirds majority to turn Turkey
into a presidential republic.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appeared to have accepted the results.
"The people's decision is the most correct decision," he said while
preparing to fly from his hometown of Konya to the capital, Ankara.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul
The
AKP has polled worse than it ever feared and lost its majority.
President Erdogan will be unable to change the constitution and extend
his powers.
What a contrast with the HDP! It gambled to run as a
single party for the first time, hoping to cross the 10% threshold - and
it paid off, gaining a significant voice for the Kurdish minority on
the national stage.
It succeeded by appealing beyond the Kurds,
drawing in leftists and staunch Erdogan opponents with its message of
equality, gay rights and environmental concerns.
This could be the start of a new political era here; a major setback for a president who has polarised this nation.
In
a volatile Middle East, Turkey matters greatly - and so the path it
takes, the nature of its democracy and the leaders it produces, all have
implications far beyond its borders.
Sunday's election has produced an extraordinary result and represents
a major change in Turkish politics, the BBC's Mark Lowen says.
The party that once seemed unstoppable for 13 years under Mr Erdogan may now struggle to form a government.
Our
correspondent says that there is now a subdued and glum atmosphere at
the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in contrast to a
sense of jubilation among HDP supporters at news that their party had
crossed the threshold to enter parliament for the first time.
"This was a victory of democracy over political corruption... of peace over war," HDP deputy Sirri Sureyya Onder said.
The HDP's leader ruled out a coalition with the AKP on Sunday,
pointing out that the election results had put an end to discussions
about a presidential system.
"The discussion of executive
presidency and dictatorship have come to an end in Turkey with these
elections," Selahattin Demirtas told a news conference in Istanbul.
The
AKP - 17 seats short of forming a government - must now contemplate
either forming a minority government or entering into a coalition.
According
to the TV projections, the AKP's share of the vote would translate into
263 seats in the 550-seat parliament, followed by the opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP).
The HDP is projected to get between 75 to 80 seats after successfully attracting votes beyond its Kurdish support base.
CHP
Istanbul Chairman Murat Karayalcin said that results show a clear
rejection by voters of Mr Erdogan's drive for greater powers.
"Voters said a clear no to the presidential system," Mr Karayalcin said.
