ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday braced for a second term, pledging to uphold secularism and deepen reforms after his Islamist-rooted party won a resounding victory in legislative polls.
It was a moment of glory and vindication for Erdogan, who called the snap election after the secularist opposition in parliament blocked his Justice and Development Party (AKP) from electing one of its own as president.
The crisis in April and May was exacerbated by a menacing military statement and mass anti-government demonstrations accusing the AKP of seeking to erode Turkey's fiercely-guarded secular system.
But on election day, Erdogan's party, which has its roots in a now-banned Islamist movement, won 46.4 percent of the vote -- more than double that of its nearest rival, according to unofficial results after all the votes had been counted.
"Our democracy has successfully passed a test... Our unity, democracy and the republic have emerged stronger from the ballot box," Erdogan told cheering supporters outside party headquarters under a shower of fireworks.
"We will never make concessions from the basic principles of the republic," he said. "We will pursue economic and democracy reforms with determination."
With the turnout above 80 percent, the AKP's share of the vote was the largest for any single party since 1969 and should translate into 340 seats in the 550-member parliament.
The official results of the election are expected in a week and the newly elected lawmakers could be sworn in in early August.
The prospect of a new AKP government with a strong mandate for its business- and EU-friendly policies sent Turkish shares to a record high, as they opened 3.84 percent up.
The European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join, urged the new government to renew its reform drive to get the country in line with European norms.
"It is essential that the new government will relaunch the legal and economic reforms with full determination and concrete results," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels.
Sunday's polls were largely seen as a litmus test for the future of democracy after botched presidential elections pitted the AKP against the powerful army, which had toppled four governments since 1960.
Turkish newspapers Monday were near unanimous in ascribing the AKP's success in large part to a public rejection of military meddling in democratic politics.
Erdogan faced the worst crisis of his career in April when an opposition boycott prevented his closest aide, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, from almost certain election to the presidency.
The crisis climaxed as the powerful army warned in a stiff statement that it stood ready to step in to protect the secular system and millions of Turks took to the streets to demonstrate against the prospect of an AKP president.
"The people do not like governments that quarrel with the soldiers, but the people also do not like military intervention," the mass-circulation Hurriyet said.
The AKP has disowned its Islamist roots, pledged commitment to secularism and carried out far-reaching economic and democratic reforms that ensured the start in 2005 of Turkey's membership talks with the European Union.
Erdogan's campaign focused on his party's impressive economic achievements since it swept to power five years ago, such as slashing chronic inflation, sustaining high growth and attracting record investment.
It has also eased access to medical care, provided free textbooks for schoolchildren and built cheap homes for the poor.
"The AKP has embraced all sections of society. Business leaders are voting for the AKP, but so are their workers," political commentator Fatih Altayli said.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) finished second Sunday with 20.8 percent of vote and 111 seats, according to unofficial results.
Sunday's elections also saw the right-wing Nationalist Action Party (MHP) return to parliament after a five-year absence, with 14.2 percent of the vote and 71 seats.
No other party passed the 10-percent national threshold needed to enter parliament, but 28 independent candidates won seats, 24 of them Kurds campaigning for broader rights for their sizeable community.

07/23/2007 13:48 GMT