Imamoglu wins, Erdogan heads for another defeat in Istanbul
Based on the first unofficial results, Turkish President Erdogan’s party appears to be suffering another defeat in Istanbul. With 50 percent of the votes counted, opposition politician Ekrem Imamoglu appears to be winning the mayoral elections in Turkey’s largest city for the second time in a row. The opposition also seems to be winning in other major cities.
According to state news agency Anadolu, current Mayor Imamoglu has received more than 50 percent of the votes so far. His challenger Murat Kurum of Erdogan’s AK Party has just over 40 percent of the votes. The more votes are counted, the greater the difference between the two candidates.
Across Turkey, millions of residents went to the polls today 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.
Next-and-neck in the polls
The polls predicted a neck-and-neck race between current mayor Imamoglu and his opponent Kurum. Imamoglu of the opposition party CHP was slightly ahead of the candidate Kurum put forward by Erdogan.
Imamoglu has been mayor of Istanbul for the past five years. In 2019, he surprisingly won the mayoral elections, causing the AKP to lose power in the city where Erdogan himself was once mayor. The AK Party also lost the local elections in Ankara and a number of other major cities.
In May last year, Erdogan won the second round of the presidential elections with 52 percent of the votes. Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, also from the CHP, received almost 48 percent of the votes. Erdogan has been in power for more than 20 years, making him the longest-serving president in Turkish history.