They were only by-elections for eleven of 400 parliamentary seats, but they were a crucial test of political strength. When the results were in last week, the big winner was Suleyman Demirel, 61, the six-time former Turkish Prime Minister whose center-right True Path Party won four seats and 23.5% of the vote.
The showing made Demirel a serious rival for Prime Minister Turgut Ozal, whose free-market Motherland Party won six seats and 32% of the popular vote; both figures were disappointingly below Ozal's expectations. Demirel may now push for general elections prior to the ballot scheduled for 1988.
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