Khalil Hamra/Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's main opposition party maintained control of major cities, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan aiming to regain control of those urban areas with significant wins in other regions in Sunday's local elections. was greatly upset.
According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, the vote count in the ballot boxes exceeded 90%, and incumbent Ekrem Imamorglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) had a wide lead as mayor of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and economic center. . According to the results, the mayor of the capital Ankara, Mansour Yabas, retained his seat with a staggering 25-point lead over his challenger.
According to Anadolu, the CHP has taken control of municipalities in 36 of Turkey's 81 provinces and has advanced into many strongholds of Erdoğan's party. It won 37% of the national vote to the president's party's 36%, marking the CHP's biggest electoral victory since Erdogan came to power 20 years ago.
President Erdogan acknowledged the electoral setback in a speech from the balcony of the presidential palace, saying his party had suffered a “high degree of decline” across Turkey. He said the people had sent a “message” that the party would “analyse” by conducting “courageous” self-criticism.
“Unfortunately, nine months after winning the elections on May 28, the test of local elections did not give us the desired results,” Erdoğan added. “We correct our mistakes and compensate for our shortcomings.”
He vowed to press ahead with economic programs introduced last year aimed at fighting inflation.
The vote was seen as a barometer of Erdogan's popularity as he seeks to regain control of key urban areas he lost to the opposition in an election five years ago. The CHP's victories in Ankara and Istanbul in 2019 shattered Erdogan's aura of invincibility.
The 70-year-old Turkish president's main battleground has been Istanbul, the city of 16 million where he was born and raised and where he began his political career as mayor in 1994.
The result was a boost for the opposition, which was fragmented and demoralized after losing last year's presidential and parliamentary elections to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Islamist-oriented Justice and Development Party (AKP).
“Voters have decided to establish a new political order in Turkey,” CHP leader Ozgur Ozer told the jubilant crowd. “Today, voters decided to change Turkey's 22-year history and open the door to a new political landscape for our country.”
Emra Gurel/AP
Meanwhile, a large crowd gathered outside Ankara City Hall to celebrate Yabas' victory. “Ankara is proud of you!” supporters chanted.
Sinan Urgen, director of Istanbul-based think tank Edam, said the “surprising result” was due to voters trying to punish the ruling party for the “severe economic downturn.” Many families in Turkey are struggling to afford basic necessities due to soaring inflation.
Urgen said AKP supporters chose to stay away from polling stations or vote for other parties.
“The turnout was relatively low compared to past elections,” he said. “There were swings in votes across party lines, but that didn't happen in national elections because of strong ideological attachments. This time, economics won out over identity.”
Approximately 61 million people, including more than 1 million first-time voters, were eligible to vote for all metropolitan municipalities, town and district mayoral positions, and neighborhood governments.
Voter turnout was about 76%, compared with 87% last year, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.
Approximately 594,000 security personnel were on duty across the country to ensure the smooth voting. Nevertheless, in the city of Diyarbakir, a dispute over the election of a district administrator escalated into violence, leaving one person dead and 11 others injured, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. At least six people were injured in fighting that also broke out in nearby Sanliurfa province.
“According to the data we have, it appears that the people's trust in us, their trust in us, has been rewarded,” Imamoglu said.
In Istanbul, Imamoglu won 50.6% of the vote, while AKP candidate and former urbanization and environment minister Murat Kurum won 40.5%, according to Anadolu Agency. Opinion polls indicated a close race between the two candidates.
Ali Unal/AP
Imamoğlu, a popular figure who has been touted as a potential future challenger to Erdogan, ran without the support of some of the parties that helped him win in 2019. The pro-Kurdish People's Equality Democratic Party and the nationalist IYI party have both launched their own political parties. Candidates in the race.
After failing to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in last year's general election, the CHP-led six-party opposition coalition criticized the economic crisis and the government's poor initial response to last year's devastating earthquake that killed more than 53,000 people. It was unusable and collapsed.
Urgen said the results put İmamoğlu in the position of opposition leader candidate to challenge Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election.
“This result was certainly a turning point for Imamour,” he said. “He will emerge as a natural opposition candidate for the next presidential election.
The New Welfare Party (YRP), a new religiously conservative party, appears to have attracted the votes of AKP supporters disillusioned with the government's economic response.
In southeastern Turkey, where the population is predominantly Kurdish, the DEM party was on track to win many municipalities, but it is unclear whether they will be allowed to keep them. Erdogan's government has previously removed pro-Kurdish elected mayors because of their ties to Kurdish armed groups and replaced them with state-elected trustees.
Analysts say a strong stance from Erdogan's party could signal his determination to pass a new constitution that reflects his conservative values and allows him to rule beyond his current term in 2028. states that it has become fixed.
President Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for more than 20 years as prime minister since 2003 and president since 2014, has advocated for a new constitution that puts family values at the forefront.