A Turkish Twist

Turkish voters have dealt Recep Erdogan’s plans to expand executive powers a crushing blow, one that will surely resonate in Turkish politics for a long time.

In a result that defied pollster predictions, the president’s AKP party secured just 41% of the vote, good for 258 seats, down from the 327 seats AKP carried in 2011. The result falls well short of the 330 super majority that would be needed to amend Turkey’s constitution and establish a presidential republic along the lines of the US system (a longstanding goal of Mr. Erdogan; it would reduce the legislative logjams Turkey used to be known for and expand his personal power in the process).