Turkish President Erdogan’s party big loser in local elections, especially defeat Istanbul a blow

Erdogan responded that “these are not the results he had hoped to achieve.” The president, who was re-elected in 2023, spoke of “a turning point for the party” and said he would “correct mistakes”.

Political observers speak of the biggest loss for Erdogan in the twenty years he has been in power – first as prime minister and then as president.

The center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP) scored particularly well in the country’s two largest cities, Istanbul and Ankara. The party already became the largest in both cities in 2019 and is now strengthening its position. In Istanbul, the party won 51.1 percent of the vote, and the AKP 39.6 percent, although polls had predicted a neck-and-neck race.

Cheer up

For the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, the win is a boost, as he is also considered a major challenger to Erdogan nationally. In a victory speech, Imamoğlu said this is the first step towards “democracy, freedom, equality, rationality and solidarity” in Turkey.

Supporters see Imamoğlu as Erdogan’s successor, but the next Turkish presidential elections are not scheduled until 2028. In 2022, Imamoğlu was prosecuted for insulting the Turkish electoral council. Supporters saw this as a political persecution by Erdogan’s AKP, with the aim of damaging his main opponent.

Hope of the opposition

In the capital Ankara, the CHP won with 60.4 percent, compared to 31.7 percent for the AKP. Mayor Mansur Yavas claimed victory shortly after the first exit polls.

Erdogan won the last presidential elections last year. That was a setback for the opposition, which had hoped to continue the gains from 2019 and unite behind a candidate. That could now be Imamoglu. If he gets a second term as mayor, there is a good chance that he will become the opposition’s presidential candidate in 2028.

Erdogan said earlier this month that these municipal elections will be the last elections in which he will actively participate. He would, he says, no longer be a candidate for the 2028 presidential elections. Erdogan has been president of Turkey since 2014, before which he had already been in power as prime minister for 11 years.