Turkey’s main opposition party has claimed big victories in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara in local body elections. The results are a significant blow for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had hoped to regain control of the cities less than a year after he claimed a third term as President. But Ekrem Imamoglu, who first won the city in 2019, scored a second victory for the secular opposition CHP.
This was for the first time since Erdogan came to power 21 years ago that his party was defeated across the country at the ballot box. In the capital Ankara, opposition mayor Mansur Yavas is so far ahead of his rival. Significantly, the CHP is also on course to win in many of Turkey’s other big cities, including Izmir and Bursa, Adana and the resort of Antalya. President Erdogan acknowledged the election had not gone as he had hoped.
