Turkey elections: Erdogan's party suffers setback

Report by Ahmad Abdallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced a political earthquake as the results of the local elections unfolded, marking a significant setback for his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

After a year of grappling with the aftermath of natural disasters, Erdogan confronted the seismic tremors of the local elections and their outcomes.

Despite intensified efforts by Erdogan and his party to reclaim major cities lost to the opposition in 2019, the results revealed a historic failure. The main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), secured 37% of the votes alone, compared to the 35% garnered by the AKP-led alliance.

The pivotal aspect of the results was the opposition's retention of control over major cities and the addition of new victories. In Istanbul, Erdogan suffered a significant blow as the CHP candidate, incumbent Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, retained his position with nearly 51% of the votes, defeating the young candidate of the ruling party, Murat Kurum, who secured only 40%.

Similarly, Ankara dashed Erdogan's hopes as the opposition candidate won by nearly 60%, while the ruling party's candidate trailed with approximately 32% of the votes. The surprise was further compounded by the opposition's victory in Izmir, where their candidate secured 48% against the AKP candidate.

Apart from losing most coastal cities like Bursa, Antalya, and Mersin, the AKP witnessed the opposition's dominance spreading to cities with Kurdish majorities.

Sporting a sportsmanlike spirit, Erdogan accepted his electoral defeat, appearing on the balcony of the ruling party's headquarters in Ankara, considering the results a victory for Turkish democracy and the country.

Following the opposition's significant win, Turkish stocks surged on Monday, while the lira experienced a slight decline. The lira rebounded from its record lows against the dollar prior to the elections.

These local election results open the door to wide-ranging questions about Turkey and its political future after over two decades of AKP rule.

Will Erdogan and his party seek constitutional amendments to enable early elections to recalibrate their position for the upcoming presidential cycle in four years?

Can the opposition unify its ranks to confront these attempts?

These are questions that will shape the days ahead.