President of Türkiye, Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party suffered its biggest defeat in local elections since coming to power 20 years ago. With around 99% of the votes counted, the opposition parties claimed victory this Monday (1st) in the largest cities in Turkey, Ankara and Istanbul.
In Istanbul, the country’s most populous city and Erdogan’s political birthplace, opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu won the election with 50.92% of the vote with 92.92% of ballots counted. AKP candidate and former Erdogan minister Murat Kurum received 40.05% of the vote.
Even with the Turkish president’s strong involvement in his party’s campaigns in both cities, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) managed to maintain control of 16 city halls across Turkey.
Voting intention surveys already pointed to this scenario, with the possible justification being the increase in inflation in the country and growing dissatisfaction among Islamic voters with the current government.
In the early hours of Monday, Erdogan acknowledged defeat in his speech at the AKP headquarters in Ankara. According to the Reuters
he told his supporters that the alliance “lost altitude” across the country and that “if we make a mistake, we will correct it”.
In a speech after his victory, İmamoğlu, the re-elected mayor of Istanbul, said that “those who do not understand the nation’s message will end up losing”.
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