Erdogan’s Party Suffered Its Biggest Defeat in 22 Years in Turkey’s Local Elections

Turkish incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), has suffered its biggest defeat in local elections at the hands of the main opposition Republican People’s Party since he came to power in 2002. With most votes counted, opposition representative Ekrem Imamoglu leads by 10% in the race for mayor of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, while his Republican People’s Party retained control of the capital Ankara and won 15 mayoral posts in other cities across the country. It has been the biggest defeat for Erdogan and his party in their more than two decades in power and may signal a change in the country’s political landscape. The president himself called it a “turning point” in his address after midnight. “If we made a mistake, we will correct it. If we are missing something, we will refine it,” he noted. According to votes from nearly 93% of ballot boxes opened in Istanbul, Imamoglu received 50.92% support compared to 40.05% for AKP candidate Murat Kurum, a former minister in Erdogan’s government. Partial official results released by the state-run Anadolu Agency showed that the AKP and its main ally lost mayoral posts in 19 key municipalities, notably the major cities of Bursa and Balıkesir. Voting in local elections was held on 31 March. We shall remind you that in early March, the Turkish President hinted that he might leave politics in the future.