Opposition triumphs
Erdogan’s party loses election in Istanbul
Supporters of the center-left CHP party celebrate in front of the town hall in the Turkish capital Ankara. photo
© Ali Unal/AP/dpa
The opposition wins again in Istanbul – and indirectly also causes President Erdogan a bitter defeat. Erdogan opponent and mayor Imamoglu strengthens his position as a leading figure.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party has the mayoral election in the important metropolis Istanbul lost according to preliminary unofficial results. Incumbent Ekrem Imamoglu (53) from the center-left CHP party won clearly with around 51 percent after almost all votes were counted, as the state news agency Anadolu reported. Imamoglu was able to build on his spectacular election victory in 2019 and strengthen his position as a possible future presidential candidate. His challenger, the former urban development minister Murat Kurum, only received around 40 percent of the vote. Istanbul has around 16 million inhabitants.
Erdogan thus missed his most important goal in the election, which was to win back the politically important metropolis of Istanbul with his Islamic-conservative AKP. According to unofficial partial results, the opposition was able to prevail in the mayoral elections in five of the country’s largest cities – particularly clearly in the capital Ankara. According to Anadolu, the incumbent mayor Mansur Yavas won there with a lead of more than 20 percent over his challenger.
Mood test for Erdogan
“We didn’t achieve the result we wanted and hoped for,” Erdogan admitted late in the evening in Ankara. The election was also seen as a test of sentiment for Erdogan, who was re-elected last year after 20 years in power. According to preliminary unofficial results, his Islamic conservative AKP is now suffering heavy losses across the country.
According to observers, voters have also punished Erdogan’s party for the high inflation rate and the economic situation. Opposition leader Özgür Özel spoke of a “historic result” that showed that voters wanted a new policy. Imamoglu said the results sent an important message to the world, where democracy is declining and authoritarian governments are on the rise.
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.
The opposition went into the vote divided
The opposition, which ran as an alliance in the 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections, entered the vote divided. Unlike the previous local elections in 2019, Imamoglu was unable to unite an opposition bloc behind him – and still won the election.
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. In addition to the high inflation of officially 67 percent, the main topics were earthquake prevention and infrastructure projects.