Turkey reaches “turning point” after Erdogan suffers worst election defeat in 20 years

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party have been hit hard after losing local elections to the opposition.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has a 10-point lead in the Istanbul mayoral race after most of the votes were counted after Sunday’s election, solidifying the city’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the main presidential candidate. Competitor position.

Ankara’s Republican People’s Party mayor Mansur Yavas also retained the capital, and the party gained another 15 mayoral seats in cities across the country.

In total, the Republican People’s Party won municipalities in 36 of Turkey’s 81 provinces and received 37 percent of the national vote, while the presidential party received 36 percent, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

It is the most serious defeat for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in more than two decades in power and could signal a change in the country’s political landscape. Erdogan’s goal is to regain control of urban areas.

Former Istanbul mayor Erdogan called it a “turning point” in a speech after midnight and said the party would now engage in “courageous” self-criticism.

“Unfortunately, nine months after we won the May 28 elections, we failed to get the results we wanted in the local election test,” Erdogan added. “We will correct our mistakes and make amends Our shortcomings.”

The 70-year-old president has vowed to press ahead with an economic plan launched last year to combat inflation.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party fared worse in the election than polls predicted, with analysts pointing to soaring inflation, dissatisfaction among Islamist voters and Imamoglu’s appeal in Istanbul.

“Those who do not understand the country’s message will ultimately lose,” Imamoglu told thousands of jubilant supporters on Sunday, some of whom chanted for Mr Erdogan’s resignation.

“Tonight, 16 million Istanbul citizens sent a message to our rivals and our president,” the 53-year-old former businessman said. He entered politics in 2008 and is now widely touted as a possible presidential challenger.

Republican People’s Party leader Ozgur Ozer said voters had decided to “build a new political order in Turkey.”

Mr Erdogan, who served as mayor of his hometown of Istanbul in the 1990s, campaigned hard ahead of municipal elections. Political analysts view the city as a barometer of national support.

Addressing a crowd at the Justice and Development Party headquarters in Ankara, Erdogan said his coalition had “lost altitude” across the country and would take steps to respond to the message from voters. “If we make a mistake, we will correct it over the next few years,” he said. “If we are missing something, we will get it done.”

Earlier, thousands of supporters waved Turkish and party flags as Republican People’s Party mayor Mansur Yavas, who is awaiting re-election, spoke in the country’s capital Ankara, defeating challengers from the Justice and Development Party.

With 92.92% of ballot boxes open in Istanbul, Imamoglu received 50.92%, while AKP challenger Murat Kurum, a former minister in Erdogan’s national government, won 40.05% support.

Opinion polls predict fierce competition in Istanbul, with CHP likely to suffer nationwide.

But early official results reported by the state-run Anadolu news agency showed that the Justice and Development Party and its main allies lost the mayoralty of 19 major cities, including the large cities of Bursa and Balikesir in the industrial northwest.

Results showed the Republican People’s Party leading with nearly 1% of the vote nationwide for the first time in 35 years.

Melt Arslanalp, assistant professor of political science at Istanbul Bogazias University, said this was Erdogan’s “most serious electoral defeat” since he came to power in 2002.

“Imamoglu has proven that even without institutional support he can reach across the deep socio-political divisions of Turkey’s opposition electorate,” he said. “This makes him the most politically competitive rival of Erdogan’s regime.”

Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based Edam think tank, said the “surprising result” was because voters wanted to punish the ruling party for “severe economic malaise”.

He believes AKP supporters are choosing to stay away from polling stations or vote for other parties.

He said the result promoted Imamoglu as a possible opposition leader to challenge Erdogan for the presidency in 2028.

“This result is certainly a watershed moment for Imamoglu,” he said. “He will be the natural candidate for the opposition in the next round of presidential elections.”

Turnout on March 31 was about 76%, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency, compared with 87% last year.

Imamoglu dealt Erdogan his first blow five years ago when he won the mayoralty of Istanbul in 2019, ending 25 years of rule over the city by the Justice and Development Party and its Islamist predecessors.

Erdogan is reelected as president in 2023, but political observers believe voters chose to punish him in this election because of economic difficulties, including inflation of nearly 70% and slowing growth caused by an aggressive monetary tightening regime.

“The economy is the decisive factor,” said Hakan Akbas, senior advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group. “The Turkish people are demanding change and Imamoglu is now El Default enemy of President Dogan.”

Flag-waving supporters outside Istanbul’s municipal building said they now wanted to see Mr Imamoglu challenge Mr Erdogan for the future presidency. “We are very happy. I love him very much. We want to see him as president,” said a woman named Esra.

Rising support for parties such as the conservative Islamist New Welfare Party, which has taken a tougher stance on Israel than Erdogan on the Gaza conflict, has also eroded support for the Justice and Development Party. It seized Sanliurfa from an incumbent AKP lawmaker in the southeast.

The main pro-Kurdish party that supported Imamoglu in 2019 fielded its own democratic candidate in Istanbul this time.

However, the results showed that many Kurds abandoned their party loyalties and voted for Mr. Imamoglu again.

In the predominantly Kurdish southeast, the Democrats won 10 provinces.

After previous elections, the state replaced pro-Kurdish mayors with state-appointed “trustees” over alleged links to militants.

About 594,000 security personnel are on duty across the country to ensure smooth voting.

Still, violence broke out during the day.

One person was killed and 11 injured in the city of Diyarbakır, where a dispute over the election of a community manager turned violent, Anadolu Agency reported.

At least six people were also wounded in fighting in nearby Sanliurfa province.

One person was shot dead and two others injured on the eve of the vote in Bursa, the Demiroren news agency reported.