In a tight race, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party claimed victory in Istanbul, while the opposition declared itself the winner in Ankara. Sunday’s vote was seen as a “referendum” on Erdogan’s popularity.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) said they secured most mayoral positions nationwide in Sunday’s municipal elections. The AKP appears to have lost to the main opposition’s candidate in the capital Ankara, while both sides claimed victory in Istanbul.
More than 57 million voters were eligible to take part in electing the mayors for 30 major cities, 51 provincial capitals and 922 districts across Turkey. The elections were seen as a crucial test for Erdogan’s popularity.
Claims and counter-claims in Istanbul
With 98 percent of ballots counted, the AKP said it had won in Istanbul — Turkey’s largest and most politically important city – after a very close fight. The ruling party reported to have obtained 48.71 percent of votes against the opposition’s 48.65 percent.
“We have won the election in Istanbul. We thank Istanbul’s residents for the mandate they have given us,” Binali Yildirim, a former premier and loyalist of Erdogan, told supporters.
But opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu criticized Yildirim for making that claim when the result was too close to call. “I would like to announce to Istanbul’s residents and all of Turkey that our numbers show that it is clear we won Istanbul,” Imamoglu said in a speech.
State media reported that Erdogan’s Islamic-based party won nearly 48 percent of the votes across the country, while the main opposition party, the Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), bagged 31 percent of the vote.
A ‘referendum’ on Erdogan’s leadership
President Erdogan’s past electoral successes have been based on a strong economy, but with a weakening currency, increasing inflation and soaring food prices, his conservative AKP party faced a tough challenge on key mayoral seats.
On Sunday night, the Turkish president told supporters that his political party remained the “number one party” in the country, but also acknowledged possible shortcomings in the municipal elections.
Anticipating possible loses in the cities, he said that perhaps his party could not express itself enough to some voters.
“If there are any shortcomings, it is our duty to correct them,” Erdogan told a crowd gathered in Ankara.
The Turkish president hinted at the possibility of losing in Istanbul, but focused on the positives. “In Istanbul, the majority of the districts are either ours or head-to-head. What does this mean? Even if our people gave away the mayorship, they gave the districts to the AK Party,” he said.
Voting was marred by election violence that killed at least two people and wounded dozens across the country.
Erdogan expressed his sorrow over the deaths and said he did not want them to become a cause for “a questioning or a judgment between political parties.”
Erdogan used the election campaign to malign the opposition parties, portraying them as enemies of the country. He also said that Turkey’s economic woes were a result of attacks by enemies at home and abroad.
The opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) had boycotted the elections in several cities, dubbing he vote unfair. Some of the HDP leaders have been jailed on terror charges, accusations they reject.
The HDP accused the government of trying “to paralyze the HDP organizationally, and render the playing field even more uneven.”
Independent observers say that opposition parties campaigned at a disadvantage because Erdogan’s daily rallies dominated media, which is either pro-government or controlled by the president’s supporters.
Since a botched military coup in 2015, President Erdogan has tightened his grip over power and has launched a crackdown on rights groups, civil society and opposition activists.