Erdogan of Turkey Loses the Nation Wide Local Election

A weak economy hinders the ruling party, while the opposition is about to secure a majority vote for the first time in decades.

https://www.wsj.com/video/turkeys-erdogan-suffers-setback-in-pivotal-local-elections/3E9694E8-E38F-4C4E-82D0-2CA2B3DE02D4.html

Istanbul —The main opposition party in Turkey maintained control over the major cities and gained ground in others, all the while pulling off an unexpected win in municipal elections that is a critique of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and reflects dissatisfaction with the nation’s unstable economy.

By early Monday morning, more than 95% of the city’s voting boxes had been opened, favoring incumbent Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of Istanbul—one of Erdogan’s most vocal opponents and a potential presidential candidate—by a margin of 50.8% to 40.1%. This information was provided by Turkey’s official news agency.

Istanbul is an important strategic location. Perched atop the Bosporus, which divides Europe and Asia, this 16 million-person metropolis serves as both Turkey’s economic hub and a worldwide hub for trade and culture, contributing 30% of the nation’s GDP. Erdogan, a working-class native who served as the city’s mayor before, had sought to take back control of the metropolis for his political party.

The victory represents a blow to Erdogan, a divisive figure in Turkey with a disproportionate influence in international politics. He has acted as a go-between in the Ukrainian conflict in recent years, all the while hoping to elevate Turkey back to the rank of major world power. As the head of a conservative religious organization, he has made an effort to establish himself as the global leader of the Muslim community.

“We are disappointed that the results of the local elections did not meet our expectations,” Erdogan said to supporters outside the Ankara offices of his party after midnight. “The winner of this election is democracy.”

For the first time since the 1970s, the opposition CHP won the most votes countrywide, taking the lead in 36 provinces as opposed to the incumbent Justice Party’s 23.