2002 Turkish general election from standing for parliament. Another prominent party member, Abdullah Gül, became prime minister (Cabinet Gül) and remained in the position until a constitutional amendment could be pushed through to allow Erdoğan to stand for a freshly vacant seat in a March 2003 by-election. The result prompted the near-immediate resignations of several prominent figures in Turkish politics: Outgoing prime minister Ecevit was widely expected to resign as leader of his DSP, but did not end up leaving until a party conference in 2004. 2002 Turkish general election The 15th Turkish general election was held on 3 November 2002 following the collapse
Bülent Ecevit Yılmaz and the Nationalist Movement Party (, MHP) of Devlet Bahçeli. Ecevit's government undertook a number of reforms aimed at stabilizing the Turkish economy in preparation for accession negotiations with the European Union. Despite initial attempts to bring about economic reforms, an argument between Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in 2001 led to a financial crash due to the instability of both the government and the economic situation. The downfall of the government was speculated to also bring an end to an existing bailout package funded by the International Monetary Fund. Despite this, the government made swift progress in