Opposition wins in major cities: Erdogan’s AKP experiences electoral debacle

Opposition wins in metropolises
Erdogan’s AKP experiences electoral debacle

April 1, 2024, 4:43 a.m

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The Turkish president is particularly aware of the rural parts of his country behind him. But he also wants to score points in the big cities in the local elections. Without success. The largest opposition party triumphs in Istanbul and Ankara. But the AKP is also suffering heavy losses elsewhere.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party suffered a bitter defeat in the local elections in Turkey. According to preliminary results from early Monday morning, the Islamic conservative AKP suffered heavy losses across the country. The largest opposition party, the CHP, was able to prevail in the mayoral elections in the country’s five largest cities – particularly clearly in the capital Ankara and in the politically important metropolis Istanbul.

According to preliminary figures, the CHP became the strongest force nationwide with 37.6 percent, as the state news agency Anadolu reported after more than 98 percent of votes were counted. The AKP got 35.7 percent. If the result is officially confirmed, the AKP would only be the second strongest force in a local election for the first time since its founding in 2002. Erdogan admitted in the evening that he had not achieved the desired result. Opposition leader Özgür Özel spoke of a “historic result” that showed that voters wanted a new policy.

The election was also seen as a test of sentiment for Erdogan, who was re-elected president last year. The high inflation rate and the economic situation are likely to have cost Erdogan’s party votes.

Erdogan misses important election goal

The President also failed to achieve his stated goal of regaining the politically important metropolis of Istanbul with its 16 million inhabitants. Incumbent Ekrem Imamoglu of the CHP won clearly with around 51 percent on Sunday after almost all votes were counted, according to Anadolu. The re-elected Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu was able to build on his spectacular election victory in 2019 and strengthen his position as a possible future presidential candidate. Unlike the last local elections in 2019, Imamoglu did not go into the election with promises of support from other opposition parties – and still won the election. He was celebrated on Sunday in front of thousands of supporters in Istanbul.

Imamoglu is seen as the opposition’s hope. He wrested power in Istanbul from Erdogan’s ruling AKP in 2019, ending 25 years of government by Islamic conservative parties. The AKP had the election canceled at the time. In the second round, Imamoglu won by an even larger margin – the success was considered the most serious setback in Erdogan’s political career. Erdogan’s political rise began in Istanbul when he was elected mayor in 1994. Erdogan was personally involved in the election campaign for Istanbul. According to Anadolu, his candidate, the former urban development minister Murat Kurum, only received just under 40 percent of the vote.

Pro-Kurdish party celebrates successes

The election is also important for the Kurdish minority in the country. In the Kurdish southeast, the pro-Kurdish DEM party was able to regain communities under compulsory administration. The government in Ankara had numerous pro-Kurdish politicians removed from office because of terrorism allegations and replaced by receivers. Erdogan accuses the pro-Kurdish party of terrorist connections, which it rejects. The AKP also lost two provinces in Anatolia, Sanliurfa and Yozgat, to the Islamist party Yeniden Refah (YRP).

In Rize, Erdogan’s home province, the AKP became the strongest force, but still lost massive votes compared to 2019. The AKP also suffered significant losses in most of the provinces affected by the earthquake in February 2023 – for example, it lost Adiyaman province to the CHP.

Around 61 million people in Turkey were called upon to elect mayors, local councilors and other local politicians. The election campaign was considered unfair – a large part of the media in Turkey is under direct or indirect government control. The main topics were the high inflation of officially 67 percent, earthquake prevention and infrastructure projects.