1995 Turkish general election

24 December 1995
550 seats in the Grand National Assembly 276 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	85.20% (1.28pp)
First party Second party Third party   130x130px ANAP Leader Necmettin Erbakan Tansu Çiller Mesut Yılmaz Party Welfare DYP ANAP Leader since 11 October 1987 13 June 1993 15 June 1991 Leader's seat Konya Istanbul Rize Last election 16.88%, 62 seats 27.03%, 178 seats 24.01%, 115 seats Seats won 158 135 132 Seat change 96 43 17 Popular vote 6,012,450 5,396,009 5,527,288 Percentage 21.38% 19.18% 19.65% Swing 4.50pp 7.85pp 4.36pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Bülent Ecevit Deniz Baykal Party Democratic Left CHP Leader since 15 January 1989 9 September 1992 Leader's seat Istanbul Antalya Last election 10.75%, 7 seats – Seats won 76 49 Seat change 69 New Popular vote 4,118,025 3,011,076 Percentage 14.64% 10.71% Swing 3.89pp New
300px Most voted-for party by province      RP        DYP        ANAP        DSP        CHP        HADEP
Prime Minister before election Tansu Çiller DYP Elected Prime Minister Tansu Çiller DYP

General elections were held in Turkey on Sunday 24 December 1995, triggered by the newly re-established Republican People's Party's (CHP) withdrawal from a coalition government with the True Path Party (DYP). The coalition had been in government for four years, having been formed by the Social Democratic Populist Party, the CHP's predecessor.

The elections inaugurated a 550-member parliament, its largest membership. The religious Welfare Party (RP) had the largest membership but not a majority standing in the body. The Democratic Left Party (DSP) also made significant gains at the expense of the CHP, which barely crossed the election barrier. The election was also the first time an openly Kurdish party – the People's Democracy Party – contested. It was the leading party in several provinces, but won no seats due to failing to cross the 10% electoral threshold.

Aftermath

Coalition of Ordered government

Not since before the declaration of the republic had a blatantly religious party emerged as the largest political force in Turkey. There were fears of the secular armed forces refusing to accept the election result, perhaps even launching yet another coup. As a national debate waged, Tansu Çiller's government stayed on, eventually agreeing with Mesut Yılmaz's Motherland Party (ANAP) to form a minority coalition in March 1996, some three months after the election.

The ANAP–DYP coalition was toppled by an RP censure motion in June, forcing President Süleyman Demirel to choose between calling a fresh election or asking RP leader Necmettin Erbakan to form a government. He chose the latter, and the DYP switched allegiances to form Turkey's first Islamist government with the RP in June 1996.

CHP decline

The newly reformed CHP had withdrawn as junior partner of a four-year coalition with the DYP to contest an election on an agenda that boasted its Kemalist and centre-left history. The gamble turned out to be a disaster; far from returning to government, the CHP became the smallest party in parliament with a loss of nationalist votes to the MHP and left-wing votes to the DSP. The party's unpopularity led to its complete ejection from parliament in the next elections in 1999.