Results of Turkish local elections are a “turning point” for President Erdogan’s party

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted his party’s defeat on Sunday evening after local elections. He talked about a “turning point” for his camp. The opposition is leading in many cities and municipalities, including Istanbul and Ankara.

“Unfortunately, we did not achieve the results we had hoped for,” the president said at his AKP headquarters in Ankara.

He also promised to respect the results. “We will certainly respect our nation’s decision. We will avoid being stubborn, going against the national will and questioning the power of the nation,” Erdogan said, also saying that democracy has won. “We will comprehensively evaluate the results of the elections within the bodies of our party and courageously formulate self-criticism.”

Ankara and Istanbul

According to preliminary results, Erdogan’s party lost massive votes across the country. Observers are talking about a historically bad result for the Islamic-conservative AKP. The main opposition party CHP wins in most provinces and also captures the two largest cities Istanbul and Ankara, according to state news agency Anadolu, with 90 percent of the votes counted. CHP candidates have already claimed victory in both cities.

In Istanbul, current CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu would win with 51 percent of the votes against AKP candidate Murat Kurum after the counting of almost all votes. Imamoglu is seen as the hope of the opposition. There is a good chance that he will become the opposition’s presidential candidate in 2028.

The municipal elections are a test for Erdogan and his party, ten months after he was elected for a third term. Erdogan said earlier this month that these municipal elections will be the last elections in which he will actively participate. He is therefore no longer a candidate for the 2028 presidential elections.