With the opposition on the verge of a major victory, Erdogan acknowledged “a turning point” for his camp
Turkey’s opposition is on the verge of a major victory across Anatolia on the eve of municipal elections on Sunday, March 31, and retaining Istanbul and Ankara, the two largest cities, which spells elimination for President Recep. Tayyip Erdogan.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the results we wanted”, declared the head of state, who spoke at the headquarters of his party, the AKP, in Ankara, in front of an unusually quiet crowd. Mr. Erdogan also promised “Respect the nation’s decision” The evening of the municipal election he describes “curve” to his camp.
Shortly before midnight (11 p.m. in France), Istanbul’s outgoing mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, announced his re-election to head of Turkey’s largest city, having won in 2019.
“We are in first place with a lead of over a million votes”, he declared to the press, clarifying that these results covered 96% of the ballot boxes. His supporters, smiling, had already gathered in front of the municipal headquarters, drenched under waves of red Turkish flags.
In Ankara, the CHP mayor, Mansur Yavas, immediately claimed victory while counting was still underway. “Those who have been ignored have sent a clear message to those who run this country”he said to a cheering crowd.
“Voters chose to change the face of Turkey”
“Voters chose to change the face of Turkey”, estimated the head of the CHP, Özgur Ozel. In addition to Izmir, the country’s third city and CHP stronghold, and Antalya, where opposition supporters took to the streets to celebrate victory, the main opposition group is on track to make gains in Anatolia. According to still partial results, she was given the lead in provincial capitals long held by the AKP.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in power for more than two decades, threw all his weight into the campaign, especially in Istanbul, the country’s economic and cultural capital where he was mayor in the 1990s and so turned into opposition in 2019. Mr. Imamoglu’s re-election as head of the megacity would already put him in the race for the 2028 presidential election.
AKP candidates, on the other hand, are leading the race in several major cities in Anatolia (Konya, Kayseri, Erzurum) and the Black Sea (Rise, Trabzon), President Erdogan’s strongholds, while the pro-Kurdish party DEM has. A comfortable lead in several major cities in the Kurdish-majority southeast, including Diyarbakır, the unofficial capital of Turkey’s Kurds.
