In a blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has swept local elections in Turkey, winning key municipalities across the country.
Cumhuriyet, a pro-opposition daily newspaper, described the outcome as a “historic victory” for the CHP, which claims to espouse Western principles of secular democracy.
In Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, the city’s CHP-aligned mayor, easily retained his seat, beating his AKP-affiliated rival by more than 10 percentage points.
The CHP likewise retained control of the capital Ankara while also picking up new mayoral seats in several cities previously regarded as AKP strongholds.
In total, the CHP won in 35 out of 81 provinces, including those home to Turkey’s five biggest urban centers.
The AKP declared victory in only 24 provinces, while the AKP-aligned Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) won in eight provinces.
In southeastern Turkey, the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party won in 10 provinces, while the IYI Party and Great Unity Party won a single province each.
But perhaps most significantly, the CHP won the popular vote—albeit by a slim margin—for the first time in 35 years, according to a final tally.
Voter turnout stood at 78 percent, down from 85 percent in previous local elections held in 2019.
In a post-election address, Mr. Erdogan, who has led the AKP—and the country—for more than 20 years, conceded that the results signaled a “turning point.”
Addressing supporters in Ankara, Mr. Erdogan admitted that the ruling AKP-led coalition, which also includes the nationalist MHP, had “lost momentum.”
“If we made mistakes, we’ll fix them,” he said, going on to assert that his party had “heard the message” delivered by voters.
Last year, Mr. Erdogan, 70, won a fresh five-year term in office, beating CHP candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu in a relatively close presidential race.
Soon afterward, Mr. Kilicdaroglu, 75, stepped down as CHP leader and has since been replaced by Ozgur Ozel, 49.
Mr. Ozel has pledged to revitalize the 100-year-old party, which was first established—like the modern Turkish Republic—in 1923.
Mr. Erdogan and his AKP have faced mounting public disapproval largely caused by chronic inflation and the steadily waning value of the Turkish lira.
According to David Eray, head of a Council of Europe election-monitoring mission, the poll was conducted in a “professional manner.”
“Election Day was calm and organized ... with a high turnout showing citizens’ strong commitment to democratic processes,” Mr. Eray told reporters in Istanbul on April 1.
Opposition Energized
Viewed as the AKP’s biggest-ever electoral defeat, the poll results—which surprised many observers—served to energize the CHP and its supporters.“Tonight, 16 million Istanbul residents sent a message to both our rivals and the president,” Mr. Imamoglu, 53, told jubilant crowds in Istanbul.
“Those who don’t hear the nation’s message will inevitably lose.”
Mr. Imamoglu, widely touted as a potential contender for the presidency, won Istanbul’s mayoral seat in 2019, ending two decades of AKP rule in the city, which accounts for some 20 percent of Turkey’s total population.
Istanbul’s mayoral election has long been viewed as a weathervane for popular sentiment.
In the 1990s, Mr. Erdogan served as Istanbul mayor for four years before going on to assume the premiership in 2003 and the presidency (after a constitutional change) in 2014.
The 2019 local election also saw the AKP lose Ankara—Turkey’s second-largest city—to a CHP candidate, who easily kept his seat this time around.
Mr. Erdogan struck back in last year’s presidential poll, defeating a CHP-led opposition alliance and winning a majority in parliament with his nationalist allies.
Since then, however, the Islamist-leaning AKP has lost some of its support to the New Welfare Party, which clinched 6 percent of the vote in this week’s election.
Decidedly Islamist in outlook, New Welfare has made a name for itself by adopting a harder stance than Mr. Erdogan against Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
‘Huge Deal’
Under Mr. Erdogan, Turkey has pursued an active foreign policy that has often clashed with those of the country’s NATO allies.For one, he has maintained good relations with Russia, with which Turkey shares extensive trade ties and a lengthy maritime border.
In the run-up to last year’s presidential poll, the AKP pledged to maintain its “political and economic relations” with Russia, especially in the field of energy.
The AKP’s critics, for their part, accuse the party of muzzling dissent and monopolizing state institutions—accusations denied by AKP officials.
They also accuse Mr. Erdogan of running the country like a “one-man show.”
In the event that the CHP assumes power, it has vowed to replace Mr. Erdogan’s “personal” approach to foreign policy with what it calls an “institutional” one.
It has also pledged to revive Turkey’s longstanding bid to join the European Union, return the country to a parliamentary (rather than presidential) system, and reverse the AKP’s unorthodox monetary policies.
Like Mr. Erdogan, Seda Demiralp, a political science professor at Istanbul’s Isik University, described the local election results as a “turning point.”
“The CHP is no longer the opposition party in local government,” she told the Associated Press.
“[Mr. Erdogan] is clearly aware that ... voters sent a clear message, even in conservative cities,” Ms. Demiralp said.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s a huge deal.”
