by Daren Butler and Can Sezer
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Ekrem Imamoglu was provisionally in the lead in Istanbul against the candidate of the AKP (Justice and Development Party), the party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at a time when almost half ballots were counted in the country’s largest city.
During these municipal elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hoped to see his party recover the cities of Istanbul and Ankara.
The current mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), won the municipal elections in 2019 with a large margin, ending twenty-five years of rule by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP over the city. city.
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The AKP also recorded an unexpected defeat in Ankara, a first for the party founded in 2001 by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to provisional official results after the counting of 41.43% of the ballots, opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu obtained 50% of the votes in Istanbul, compared to 41.26% for Murat Kurum, a former minister in the Erdogan government. .
“Based on the data we have collected, I can say that the favor and trust placed in us by our citizens has indeed been demonstrated,” said Ekrem Imamoglu.
The CHP is in the lead in several major Turkish cities such as Izmir, Bursa, Antalya and Adana, according to provisional results published by the state news agency Anadolu.
At the national level, the CHP is in the lead with 39% of the votes, according to provisional results, a first in 35 years.
The vote was marked by violence across the country, leaving at least three dead.
In the southeast of the country, clashes took place between people armed with guns, sticks and stones and left one dead and 11 injured.
In another incident, a candidate was killed and four other people were injured in clashes, according to state news agency Anadolu.
In Sanliurfa (south-east), 16 people were injured, according to Anadolu, another candidate was stabbed in the west of the country and one person was shot dead and two others were injured overnight in Bursa ( northwest), according to the media Demiroren.
Sunday’s vote could strengthen Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s control over Turkey, or signal a change in the country’s political landscape.
Opinion polls pointed to a close vote in Istanbul, where Ekrem Imamoglu faces AKP candidate Murat Kurum, former Minister of Environment and Urbanization.
(French version Camille Raynaud and Zhifan Liu)
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