Setback for Erdogan in Turkey: the opposition celebrates a historic victory in the municipal elections

The Turkish opposition won a major victory across the country on Sunday. including Istanbul and Ankara.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan feared a similar scenario. For the second time in a rowthe opposition defeated the ruling party in the two largest cities in the country, also exceeding the votes obtained in 2019 and winning the majority in the city council.

Five years ago the social democratic party CHP won a majority supported by an alliance of opposition parties. In these elections he had to rely only on his own base.

In other wordsErdogan finds himself facing two rivals capable of gathering the votes of a very broad opposition and whose popularity is catching up with yours.

A new national electoral prospect now looms for the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamogluwho could step into the ring in four years in the next presidential elections.

“Today the voters decided to change and put an end to the power imbalance. The CHP has achieved a historic victory,” party president Özgür Özel said at a press conference.

“We were fed up. We needed something concrete. People are realizing how incompetent the power is. The economic crisis and hunger affect us all. There is poverty everywhere”, a mother who came to celebrate the victory in front of the CHP headquarters told RFI.

“A turning point,” Erdogan acknowledged

Even before the High Election Commission (YSK) confirmed the final results this Monday, President Erdogan he admitted a “turning point” for his team.

“Unfortunately we didn’t get the results we expected,” he admitted to an unusually quiet crowd at the ruling AKP party headquarters in Ankara. “We will not disrespect our nation’s decision nor will we act against the national will“, he has declared.

Some AKP strongholds, such as Bursa, Turkey’s fourth largest city, have moved like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir into the opposition camp. The entire Aegean region, the inland and coastal provinces, have changed sides, reflecting a deterioration of the AKP with each new election.

Double backhand

In fact, the ruling party already it is not the main party in Türkiye. At a national level it stands at 35.2% of the votes and the CHP at 37.7%.

This double whammy, many They attribute it to the state of the economy and errors in candidate selection. “It’s Erdogan’s fault. “He has been in power for 20 years but he has not been able to choose candidates well!”, Mücahit, a 21-year-old AKP supporter, told RFI.

The vote has been marked by violence throughout the country, leaving at least three deaths. In the south-east of the country there were clashes between people armed with guns, sticks and stones which left one dead and 11 injured. In another incident, one candidate died and four other people were injured in the clashes, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.