Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lost for the first time in the past 20 years to the main opposition force, the Republican People's Party (CHP), in nationwide municipal elections.
According to unofficial preliminary data reported by TRT television, after nearly 95% of all ballots were counted in nationwide contests for the mayor’s office in major cities, the CHP garnered 37.3% with the AKP trailing closely behind at 35.7%.
Mayoral races were the most important contests in the nationwide local elections.
CHP candidates are already leading for the mayoralty in 15 out of 30 major cities and 21 provincial centers. So far, the AKP is ahead in 11 metropolitan areas and 12 provincial centers. That said, it failed to regain mayoral seats in the biggest cities, including Ankara, Istanbul, Antalya and Izmir.
Incumbent Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas (CHP) won re-election comfortably with 59.5% of the vote against AKP challenger Turgut Altinok, who posted only 32%. In contrast, incumbent Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu (CHP) held on to his seat with a razor thin margin of 50.8% over AKP candidate Murat Kurum, who scored 40%, and other challengers.
In both Antalya and Izmir, which have traditionally been seen as opposition strongholds, the gap between the ruling AKP and the CHP and other opposition parties was about 10% in favor of the opposition.
The pro-Kurdish DEM Parti has claimed three metropolitan areas and seven provincial centers in regions in southeastern Turkey, where the country’s Kurdish population is concentrated.
Turkey’s Supreme Election Council intends to announce the preliminary results on Monday.
Meanwhile, party leaders and candidates have already claimed victory or conceded defeat. Yavas and Imamoglu have already celebrated their electoral triumphs. CHP Head Ozgur Ozel noted his party’s substantial success and stressed in particular that, "for the first time since 1978, the state television has named the CHP as the leader in the elections."
In turn, Erdogan conceded that his AKP party had failed to obtain the desired results at the polls, but asserted that this is "not the end but a turning point." According to him, the AKP will draw the necessary conclusions, analyze what happened and work toward rectifying its mistakes.