Local elections in Turkey: Opposition stuns Erdogan with historic victory

Turkey's main opposition party has won significant victories in the elections in Istanbul and Ankara, UNN reports citing the BBC.

Details

The results, as noted, were a significant blow to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had hoped to regain control of the cities less than a year after he won a third term as president.

He led the campaign in Istanbul, where he grew up and became mayor.

But Ekrem Imamoglu, who first won the city's elections in 2019, won a second victory for the secular opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

Erdogan has promised a new era in Turkey's metropolis of nearly 16 million people, but the incumbent mayor of Istanbul was reportedly on track to win more than 50% of the vote, more than 10 points ahead of the presidential candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

It was also the first time since Erdogan came to power 21 years ago that his party was defeated in elections across the country.

Istanbul is home to a fifth of Turkey's population of nearly 85 million people. Controlling the city means controlling a significant part of Turkey's economy, including trade, tourism and finance, the newspaper notes.

In the capital Ankara, opposition mayor Mansur Yavas was so far ahead of his rival by 59% that he declared victory when less than half of the votes were in. Supporters blocked all major roads in the city, waving flags and honking their car horns.

Importantly, the CHP was also on track to win in many other major cities in Turkey, including Izmir and Bursa, Adana and the resort of Antalya.

President Erdogan, 70, acknowledged that the election did not go as he had hoped, but told his supporters in Ankara that it would not mean "the end for us, but rather a turning point.

During the election campaign, Erdogan said that this would be his last, as his presidential term ends in 2028. "But critics believed that a victory would have prompted him to revise the constitution so that he could run again. After such a dramatic defeat, that seems unlikely," the newspaper points out.

Both Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas are considered potential candidates for the Turkish presidential election in 2028.

While large parts of the west, south, and north of Turkey are now under the control of the opposition CHP, the pro-Kurdish DEM Parti has gained control of a large part of the southeast.

Erdogan's Justice and Development Party continues to dominate central Turkey and has made greater gains in areas of the southeast devastated by the February 2023 double earthquake, including the cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.

According to Hürriyet, after counting 99.81% of the ballots in the local elections in Turkey, the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) received 37.7% of the vote, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) - 35.49% of the vote in the mayoral elections, and 34.44% and 32.43% respectively in the local council elections.

Addendum

Some 61 million Turks were eligible to vote in Sunday's elections, with more than a million young voters casting ballots for the first time. Turnout was estimated at over 77% in 81 provinces across the country.