April 1, 2024 (EIRNS)—The people of Türkiye who went to the polls on Sunday, March 31 to elect mayors, district councils, and other local officials, delivered a defeat to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). According to polls, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) received some 38% compared to the AKP’s 36%. The CHP won elections in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, the three major cities. This was the CHP’s best results in local elections since 1989 and the first time it has out-performed the AKP, since AKP was founded.
The CHP won 35 cities out of 81, including the three major ones, whereas AKP won 25 cities. In Istanbul, CHP’s Ekrem İmamoğlu was easily reelected with close to 50% of the vote, and in the nation’s capital of Ankara, CHP’s incumbent Mayor Mansur Yavaş won reelection. İmamoğlu and Yavaş are two very popular politicians who could lead the party in the next presidential elections in 2028.
Moreover, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is most active in the Kurdish regions of the country’s southeast, won three major cities in that region.
Commentators say that the vote will discourage Erdogan from trying to change the constitution so he could run for another term in 2028.
