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ANKARA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The bombings that claimed the lives of 102 people in the Turkish capital Ankara a week ago may have an impact on the upcoming snap election in November.
As the public anger grows over the twin suicide bombings, the worst in the Turkish history, many believed that the interim Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is failing to address increased violence and surge in terrorism.
Even before the bombing next to the central train station in the downtown area of Ankara, polls had suggested the public overwhelmingly hold the AKP responsible for the failure in the fight against terror.
According to the Gezici Research and Polling Company between Oct. 3 and 4, several days before the attacks, 70.9 percent of Turks agreed that the government is not doing enough to prevent terrorism.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, founder of the AKP, was not spared from the growing public disillusionment and resentment against the government.
The number of people who believed the AKP did not do enough in dealing with terror is expected to increase further in the aftermath of the bombings.
"This is quite a shock to the nation and I'm sure it will take a toll on the popularity of the AKP and president further," political analyst Idris Gursoy said.
Nevertheless, recent polls taken before the attacks suggested that results of the upcoming elections would not be much different than the one seen in the inconclusive June 7 elections.
No political party is expected to secure enough seats to establish a single-party government, prompting a renewed search for a coalition government as part of a compromise talks.
Gezici survey said the AKP would likely get 256 seats, while Metropoll said it would receive 261 seats. At least 276 seats, or simple majority, are needed for any party to get a vote of confidence in the parliament and thereby establish a government in Turkey.
If the public outcry over twin the bombing attacks turns into anger against the government, the AKP may get less seats than the pre-attack polls suggested.
The opposition parties have already capitalized on the security vulnerabilities that led to the terror attacks, blaming the AKP for this failure.
Sezgin Tanrikulu, deputy head of the main opposition Republican Peoples' Party, said on Friday that the AKP and President Erdogan, who still holds a sway over his former party, are responsible for dragging the nation into this chaos.
He accused the AKP government of turning a blind eye on activities of the Islamic State, the key suspect in the twin bombings in Ankara, for years.
"Fighters and terrorists under the name of Jihadists from 80 countries in the world descended into Syria using Turkey as a transit. This government tolerated, looked to the other way and even supported them at times," he explained.
The Nationalist Movement Party leader, Devlet Bahceli, also accused the government of dropping the ball on the intelligence, saying if terrorists had carried bombs 935 km from Syrian al-Raqqah city to Ankara, this points out at the intelligence failure.
Bahceli has called on the interim government to resign.
"The problem with the attack in Ankara is the fact that everyone saw it coming," said Turkish analyst Suat Kiniklioglu, who recalled media coverage of the names of the suspected suicide bombers long before the attack happened.
Fearing a political fallout, the interim government rushed to secure a blanket media ban on covering and reporting about the deadly attacks, including interviews and even criticisms. Yet most media outlets simply disregarded the ban and continued reporting on more revelations about the investigation.
"The government always institutes such a ban when there is something to hide from the public and it usually involves state employees and/or politicians," Kiniklioglu lamented.
Local media reports have uncovered more troubling news for the government on Friday. According to a report published in Hurriyet newspaper, the names and identities of both suicide bombers remained known by the authorities for a long time, though police intelligence had issued an alert on potential bombers.
In fact, one of suspects was the brother of the bomber who blew himself up in July in the border town of Suruc and claimed the lives of 34 people.
