The opposition is optimistic after the results from the local elections show that they lead in the country’s largest city Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
– The local elections are not the end for us, but a turning point, says Erdogan according to the Reuters news agency.
Now awaits self-criticism and addressing things that failed, according to the president.
Declared Istanbul victory
Istanbul’s incumbent mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has declared election victory. He represents the CHP, which is the largest opposition party. According to the news agency Reuters, the mayor states that he leads the local elections with a margin of over 1 million votes, after 96 percent of the counting was completed. The candidate from the AKP is Murat Kurum.
In Ankara, Mayor Mansur Yavas, who is also from the CHP, has already declared himself re-elected after initial results showed him leading by 24 percentage points with 30 percent of the votes counted. The CHP also leads in Izmir.
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Inflation and crisis
Before the election, Erdogan launched an intense personal campaign to win back Istanbul, where he himself was mayor once upon a time, but which lost to him in the last election.
But soaring inflation and an economic crisis that is hitting households hard have made the election campaign difficult for him.
– Based on the numbers we have received, I can say that our citizens’ trust in us has been rewarded, Imamoglu said at the CHP headquarters on Sunday evening.
Can be an opponent
A victory for Imamoglu is likely to make him the main challenger to the AKP party in the next presidential election in 2028.
Around 61 million Turks had the right to vote in the elections for mayors, as well as municipal councilors and other local officials, in Turkey’s 81 provinces.
