Turkey's Municipal Elections; Opposition Victory Announced in Ankara and Istanbul

Despite the ruling Justice and Development Party's lead in Turkey's municipal elections, the opposition has managed to win in Ankara after 25 years and claims to be slightly ahead but firmly in the lead in Istanbul. In the Turkish capital, Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, the candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party, has secured nearly fifty percent of the votes in the municipal elections. This means the Republican People's Party has ended the 25-year presence of the Justice and Development Party in the capital. In Istanbul, Turkey's largest and most populous city, the competition is very close; the state news agency initially reported that with 98 percent of the ballots counted, Binali Yıldırım, the candidate of the Justice and Development Party, was ahead with 48.70 percent of the votes compared to Ekrem İmamoğlu of the Republican People's Party with 48.65 percent. Hours later, early Monday morning, Mr. İmamoğlu claimed he had received 29,000 more votes and was the winner of this competition. Shortly thereafter, the Justice and Development Party's office also declared its candidate the winner by 4,000 votes. The opposition candidate stated that the results obtained by his party indicate their victory in this Turkish city and that the ruling party can no longer change this gap. Ekrem İmamoğlu criticized the state news agency, Anadolu, for not updating its initial report despite changes in the vote results. Reuters reports that it seems Recep Tayyip Erdoğan implicitly accepted defeat in the Istanbul mayoral election in a speech, although he emphasized that more seats in councils had gone to the Justice and Development Party. Istanbul is the city where Mr. Erdoğan began his journey to becoming the most powerful person in his country after winning the municipal elections there in 1994. During the political campaigns before the municipal elections, he stated, 'Whoever wins in Istanbul wins in Turkey.' In Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, the Republican People's Party has won significantly as expected. In predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey, the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party has regained seats that the government took from this party two years ago on charges of 'supporting terrorism.' The People's Democratic Party has denied allegations regarding connections to the PKK. Overall, the Justice and Development Party and its allies have managed to secure over 50 percent of the total votes nationwide. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claims that 56 percent of the municipal and council seats have gone to them. The Justice and Development Party and its allies also benefited from widespread support from pro-government or government-owned media. Many analysts and international news agencies stated that the municipal elections were a test for the ruling party to gauge public sentiment under current conditions. While the Turkish economy is in disarray, Erdoğan has promised economic growth and increased job opportunities. He has also promised to confront Kurdish militants in Syria. In recent days, some of Erdoğan's other comments have also received widespread attention.