On Sunday, Turks cast their votes in municipal elections centered around President Tayyip Erdoğan’s endeavor to regain authority over Istanbul from his rival Ekrem İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu seeks to revitalize the opposition’s political influence following their bitter election losses last year.
In Istanbul, a city of 16 million people that drives Turkey’s economy, polls suggest a tight race as the current mayor İmamoğlu faces a challenge from AKP candidate Murat Kurum, a former minister.
İmamoğlu dealt Erdoğan and his AK Party the biggest electoral blow of two decades in power with his win in the 2019 vote. The president struck back in 2023 by securing re-election and a parliamentary majority with his nationalist allies.
Sunday’s results could now reinforce Erdoğan’s control of NATO-member Turkey, or signal change in the major emerging economy’s divided political landscape. An İmamoğlu win is seen fuelling expectations of him becoming a future national leader.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) in eastern Turkey and elsewhere at 8 a.m., with more than 61 million people registered to vote. Voting ends at 5 p.m. and initial results are expected by 10 p.m. (1900 GMT).
The results are likely to be shaped in part by economic woes driven by near 70% inflation, and by Kurdish and Islamist voters weighing up the government’s performance.
While the main prize for Erdoğan is Istanbul, he also seeks to win back the capital Ankara. Both cities were won by the opposition in 2019 after being under the rule of his AKP and Islamist predecessors for the previous 25 years.
Erdoğan’s prospects have been helped by the collapse of the opposition alliance that he defeated last year, though İmamoğlu still appeals to voters beyond his main opposition Republican People’s Party.
One factor working against Erdoğan is a rise in support for the Islamist New Welfare Party due to its hardline stance against Israel over the Gaza conflict and dissatisfaction with the Islamist-rooted AKP’s handling of the economy.
İmamoğlu dealt Erdoğan and his AK Party the biggest electoral blow of two decades in power with his win in the 2019 vote. The president struck back in 2023 by securing re-election and a parliamentary majority with his nationalist allies.
Sunday’s results could now reinforce Erdoğan’s control of NATO-member Turkey, or signal change in the major emerging economy’s divided political landscape. An İmamoğlu win is seen fuelling expectations of him becoming a future national leader.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) in eastern Turkey and elsewhere at 8 a.m., with more than 61 million people registered to vote. Voting ends at 5 p.m. and initial results are expected by 10 p.m. (1900 GMT).
The results are likely to be shaped in part by economic woes driven by near 70% inflation, and by Kurdish and Islamist voters weighing up the government’s performance.
While the main prize for Erdoğan is Istanbul, he also seeks to win back the capital Ankara. Both cities were won by the opposition in 2019 after being under the rule of his AKP and Islamist predecessors for the previous 25 years.
Erdoğan’s prospects have been helped by the collapse of the opposition alliance that he defeated last year, though İmamoğlu still appeals to voters beyond his main opposition Republican People’s Party.
One factor working against Erdoğan is a rise in support for the Islamist New Welfare Party due to its hardline stance against Israel over the Gaza conflict and dissatisfaction with the Islamist-rooted AKP’s handling of the economy.
Source: Reuters
More In Politics MORE...
