Turkey: Opposition claims gains in Istanbul and Ankara, Erdogan acknowledges disappointing results

TURKEY: The opposition in Turkey appears to be heading for victory in major cities in local elections. The preliminary results also indicate that the influence of opposition parties is growing in municipalities across the country.
President Erdogan has acknowledged in a speech that his AK Party has not achieved the desired result. He calls the result a turning point and calls on the party to reflect. “The Turkish people have spoken,” Erdogan told his supporters at the party office in Ankara.
In Istanbul and Ankara, the incumbent opposition mayors have claimed victory. With almost all votes counted in Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu of CHP, the largest opposition party, is more than 10 percentage points ahead of his opponent Murat Kurum of the AK Party. This is evident from statistics from state news agency Anadolu.
In Ankara, Mayor Mansur Yavasal (CHP) claimed victory just three hours after the polls closed. In the capital, almost all votes have also been counted and the difference with the AK Party candidate is almost one million votes.
Across Turkey, millions of residents went to the polls on Sunday to elect their local leaders, from village heads and district chiefs to municipal councilors and mayors. The election battle in Istanbul in particular was awaited with great anticipation.
The outcome of the mayoral elections in the metropolis also has consequences for the next presidential elections in 2028. "Whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey," Erdogan himself said earlier. The battle for the mayoral position is therefore also a battle for the land.
(Source: NOS.nl)