President Erdogan’s worst defeat in local elections in Turkey

In Turkey’s local elections, President Erdogan and his party have suffered a major blow, with opposition candidates winning mayoral seats in 15 cities across the country, including the capital Ankara and Istanbul.

Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu won by around 10 points, while thousands of people took to the streets in Ankara to celebrate the victory of incumbent opposition Mayor Mansur Yavash.

President Erdogan and his party are facing their worst defeat in more than two decades in power, while the opposition Republican People’s Party has achieved a historic victory following 70 years.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his statement on the poor performance in the local elections and the success of the opposition said that March 31 is not the end for us, but the turning point, 9 months following the victory in the May elections, we might not get the desired results.

He said that the Turkish people have conveyed their message to the politicians through voting, they will review the results in the party and hold themselves accountable.

Overall, in the local elections, the ruling AK Party is leading in 340 districts and the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is leading in 240 districts.

It should be noted that the counting of votes cast for local elections in Turkey is ongoing.

During the local elections, there is a fierce competition between President Erdoğan’s People’s Alliance and the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

In addition to Ankara, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also won 9 other mayoral seats in the country’s major cities.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets to celebrate the victory of the current opposition mayor Mansur Yavas in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

Analysts say President Erdogan and his AK Party (AKP) fared worse than exit polls predicted in Istanbul, partly due to rising inflation. In 2019, Akram Imamoglu of the Republican People’s Party defeated the candidate of Erdogan and his party, who have been in power for two decades in Istanbul.

Mayors are being elected in 390 towns including 81 provinces and 973 districts in Turkey’s local elections.