Image source, TOLGA BOZOGLU/EPA-EFE
Ekrem Imamoglu won Istanbul for the opposition in 2019 and has his eye on a second term
Turkey’s main opposition party has taken the lead in some of the country’s biggest cities, including Istanbul, in high-stakes local elections.
Istanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the city in 2019, said that he was “very happy” so far.
A year after Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a third term as president, he has made it his goal to win back the city where he grew up and became mayor.
The secular nationalist opposition is also well ahead in the capital Ankara.
Mansur Yavas also won the city from Mr Erdogan’s AK Party five years ago.
Both Mr Yavas and his Istanbul party colleague Mr Imamoglu are seen as potential candidates to run for the presidency in 2028.
Ahead of Sunday’s election in Istanbul, the vote was seen as too close to call, with the incumbent mayor facing a strong challenge from AK Party candidate Murat Kurum.
President Erdogan, 70, led his party’s election campaign, vowing a new era in Turkey’s megacity of almost 16 million people.
But his government has been unable to shake off an economic crisis that has seen inflation rates of 67% and interest rates at 50%.
With more than half the vote counted in Istanbul, Mr Imamoglu of the CHP was nine points ahead of his AK Party rival.
“Based on the data we now have, I can say that our citizens’ trust and faith in us has been rewarded,” he said.
In Ankara, CHP mayor Mansur Yavas was leading by a far greater margin but with less of the vote counted.
Significantly, their party was also ahead in many of Turkey’s other big cities, including Izmir and Bursa, and the resort of Antalya.
Image source, Murat Kulu/PPO/Handout
Sunday’s vote is seen as a test of President Erdogan’s popularity after 21 years in power
Mr Erdogan’s AK Party had more success in areas of the south-east devastated by the February 2023 double earthquake. It was ahead in the cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.
About 61 million Turkish voters were eligible to take part in Sunday’s election and turnout was estimated at more than 76% across the country’s 81 provinces.
Abhinav Thawait is a globe-trotting correspondent with a passion for international affairs. With a background in international relations, he offers a global perspective on the most pressing issues around the world. Abhinav’s curiosity takes his to the far corners of the earth, where he seeks to share untold stories and diverse viewpoints.
