One cannot understate the influence President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has on contemporary Turkish politics. He came a long way from his humble beginnings as the mayor of Istanbul to become the most powerful man in Turkey, standing atop the most important geopolitical region of the planet and commanding an emerging great power influencing the affairs of the Middle East. He established a vast political empire within Turkey with deep political connections with the Turkish upper class, industries, and the military alongside a vast populist and Islamist movement backing him.

But as the events of late 2022 and early 2023 unfolded, his house of cards was far more brittle than what was anticipated. In the grand scheme of things despite Erdogan's vast advantages and his cemented position as political hegemon of Turkey, the general public was just too damn sick of him and his tirades on public television and social media. His support within the military has eroded despite his purges as younger officers loyal to Kemalism entered the ranks and the cumbersome and corrupt structure of the AKP was unable to outmaneuver the political movements of the multiple smaller opposition parties. All the major opposition parties stand in an ironclad devotion towards the ousting of Erdogan, representing a dangerous threat to Turkish democracy. While as of yet the opposition remains small enough to not pose a threat to depose the AKP, polling data suggests a plethora of opposition parties are expected to gain seats in the double digits from the AKP. The CHP primaries ended with the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas to run for President of Turkey on behalf of the CHP against Erdogan With little time left to force a political counterattack by Erdogan, he attempted to reassure his commitments and conduct rallies riling up Islamist rhetoric and tensions, denouncing his opposition for attempting to destroy Turkey from within and everything Erdogan has built stoking fears by the Turkish conservative electorate of their religious rights being curtailed by the return of Kemalism to Turkey.

And so the fateful day arrived with the final votes tallied, as dusk falls in Mediterranean Turkey. The results sent shockwaves throughout Turkey and indeed the Middle East and the world at large with the AKP losing a staggering 81 seats. While the AKP remains the largest party in seats, the Kemalist parties surged through the ranks with 192 seats and 77 for the CHP and IYI parties. With 60 seats for the HDP, also known as the People's Democratic Party being the third largest party of the Nation Alliance, the opposition against AKP finally has an absolute majority of the Grand National Assembly gaining control over the legislature. The bad news only came flooding in for Erdogan's camp as Mansur Yavas was declared the victor of the Turkish presidential election by a margin of 58% to 42% (Yavas-Erdogan) of the vote. Erdogan could feel nothing but the rage that night. His life's work is undone by his very own eyes. The people no longer wanted him, they wanted Yavas and Kemalism to come back in a bid to bring economic prosperity back to the Turkish people through the ambitious but populist Kemalist social programs. In a state address shortly after the news broke out of Yavas's victory. Erdogan came public accepting his defeat to now President-elect Mansur Yavas, preferring to leave in grace than pull another trick on a nation sick of games.

A new era has begun for Turkey, one of the triumphant return of Kemalism, a new left-wing government, and the rise of a rejuvenated democratic state in the Muslim World. Now the long road to reform and democratization is ahead of the Kemalist bloc preparing for their new transformation.

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