Special to WorldTribune.com

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is set to return to power after the Nov. 1 elections.

With 90 percent of the ballots counted, the AKP had 49.9 percent of the vote and is expected to take the 276 seats in parliament needed for the party to form its own government. The AKP is not likely, however, to gain enough power to make constitutional changes.

Erdogan engaged in a brutal crackdown on foes after losing the June elections.

Turkey allowed the United States joint use of its Incirlik air base to attack Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as cover for Turkish forces to launch an offensive on Kurdish fighters, officials said.

The crackdown continued on Oct. 27, observers say, when Turkey took control of 22 companies including newspapers and TV stations linked to U.S.-based cleric and Erdogan enemy Fethullah Gulen.

The companies taken into state receivership include two newspapers and two television stations that have been critical of Erdogan’s leadership.

Gulen is a former ally who became a leading critic of the president after opening an investigation into Erdogan’s inner circle in 2013.

  AKP, Erdogan’s party claims electoral win after brutal crackdown on opposition, Fethullah Gulen, WorldTribune.com