1987 Turkish general election

General elections were held in Turkey on 29 November 1987. Prior to the elections, the military junta's restrictions on former politicians were lifted, allowing them to re-enter politics. Despite a reduction in its share of the vote, the Motherland Party retained its majority in parliament, gaining 81 seats. Voter turnout was 93.3%.[1]

1987 Turkish general election

29 November 1987
450 seats in the Grand National Assembly 226 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	93.28% (1.01pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Turgut Özal Erdal İnönü Süleyman Demirel Party ANAP SHP DYP Leader since 20 May 1983 30 May 1986 6 September 1987 Leader's seat İstanbul İzmir Isparta Last election 45.14%, 211 seats 30.46%, 117 seats – Seats won 292 99 59 Seat change 81 18 New Popular vote 8,704,335 5,931,000 4,587,062 Percentage 36.31% 24.74% 19.14% Swing 8.83pp 5.72pp New
Prime Minister before election Turgut Özal ANAP Elected Prime Minister Turgut Özal ANAP

The elections saw the return of the religious oriented base of Necmettin Erbakan and the symbol names of the politics in the 1970s, Bülent Ecevit and Süleyman Demirel. Bülent Ecevit led the Democratic Left Party as the Republican People's Party was closed down after the coup of 1980. Süleyman Demirel founded the True Path Party to challenge the power of Turgut Özal on conservative liberal votes. The elections were marked by harsh restrictions on televised publicity for the opposition parties. Unlike the 1983 elections, there was no televised debate between the presidential candidates. Only one week before the elections, political infomercials from the different parties were aired. The Social Democratic Populist Party gained the most benefit of the infomercials, as the SHP polled about 30% compared to the 18% before screening the infomercial.[2]