Opposition's historic win in Turkey as CHP secures major cities
The Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), declared his win in the city's local elections on a Sunday evening, as reported by Reuters. Istanbul is home to around 16 million people.
Since 2019, Ekrem Imamoglu has been at the helm of Istanbul's administration. With 96% of ballots counted, he announced a lead of one million votes. He was up against Murat Kurum, the former Minister of Environment from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey.
In a related development, the Mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas from the CHP, also proclaimed his victory in the elections.
Elections in Turkey
With about 60% of the vote tallied, the CHP was ahead in Turkey’s local elections, leading over the AKP, which had won the previous year's parliamentary elections. The CHP scored 37.5% compared to the AKP's roughly 36.6%, as was initially reported by the state agency Anatolia.
Data from the official agency Anatolia indicated that the CHP was ahead in several key cities, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, and Adana.
Balkan Insight assessed that the preliminary outcomes signal a significant triumph for the opposition party. It pointed out that the ruling party would lose control over key urban centres and is also facing setbacks in its Anatolian strongholds.
