ANKARA, Turkey - Propelled by voter anger over Turkey's two-year economic crisis, a populist party with Islamic roots easily won yesterday's national elections, sweeping a corrupt government from power and igniting fears of a potential showdown with a staunchly secular military.
Unofficial results with 99 percent of the ballot boxes counted showed the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, with 34.2 percent of the vote - enough to control parliament and a clear sign of the contempt that Turks feel for an era of infighting and economic turmoil brought about by coalition governments.
Most of the nation's 41 million voters probably spoke with their pocketbooks, not their religious convictions. But the religious overtones in the election were apparent.
Widely described as a moderate Islamic party espousing Western democratic principles, the AKP is assuming power as Turkey is pushing for European Union membership and as the United States eyes this nation's air bases for a possible war against Iraq.
The Turkish military, the protector of the secular constitution, is wary that the party might tug the country away from an 80-year struggle to join the West.
According to the unofficial tally, the AKP's main rival - the Republican People's Party, or CHP - won 19.4 percent of the vote. It was the only other party to pass the 10 percent threshold required to enter parliament.
The Democratic Left Party of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, blamed for the nation's economic collapse and an estimated 20 percent unemployment rate, received 1.3 percent of the votes.
Official results of the election are expected to be released Wednesday.
"We committed suicide," said Ecevit, referring to the government's decision to hold elections 18 months early for 550 parliament seats. Ecevit's poor health was a main factor in the date change.
AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to defuse fears about his party's religious intentions and emphasized Turkey's relationship with Europe. In his victory remarks, Erdogan, the former mayor of Istanbul, said: "The process of joining the European Union will be speeded up," and Turkey "will follow economic programs to integrate the country with the world."
Analysts predict that the Turkish military will not immediately react to the AKP's landslide but will wait to see how firmly the party holds to its pro-Western promises. In 1997, the military forced the Islamic Welfare Party from power.
Yesterday's victory was a testament to the AKP's organizational ability and to Erdogan's dynamic personality. The party projected a folksiness that captured villages and hamlets scattered across vast agricultural regions.
It employed a more sophisticated tone in the cities, where young, disillusioned professionals were eager for change. Party officials bristled whenever the AKP was referred to as Islamist, insisting that they would not abandon Turkey's NATO and other pro-Western commitments.
"The AKP will not be religious in office," said Bulent Akarcali, a political analyst and former member of parliament. "These guys are Western-oriented. They're not fundamentalists."
Jeffrey Fleishman is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing Co. newspaper.