1977 Turkish general election

General elections were held in Turkey on 5 June 1977. Elections took place in the middle of a political race between the right-wing AP and the left-wing 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 72.4%.[2]

1977 Turkish general election

5 June 1977
Total of 450 seats of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey 226 seats were meeded for a majority
Turnout	72.4%[1] 5.6pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Bülent Ecevit Süleyman Demirel Necmettin Erbakan Party CHP AP MSP Leader since 14 May 1972 28 November 1964 20 October 1973 Leader's seat Zonguldak Isparta Konya Last election 185 seats, 33.3% 149 seats, 29.8% 48 seats, 11.8% Seats won 213 189 24 Seat change 28 40 24 Popular vote 6,136,171 5,468,202 1,269,918 Percentage 41.4% 36.9% 8.6% Swing 8.1% 7.1% 3.2%
Largest party by province.
Prime Minister before election Süleyman Demirel AP Elected Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit CHP

The CHP's victory was the zenith of left-wing votes in the history of the Republic of Turkey, 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 with Bülent 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 could not retain power for long and soon government control passed on to the AP even as the rumblings of the 1980 military coup were beginning to be felt.