The opposition CHP not only wins in big cities, but is also the strongest party nationally for the first time, ahead of Erdogan's AKP.
Supporters of Ekrem Imamoglu, the CHP mayor of Istanbul, celebrate his victory in the evening in front of the Istanbul city hall. Photo: Shady Alassar/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
ISTANBUL taz | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP suffered a crushing defeat in Turkey's national local elections on Sunday. Not only did the opposition win the metropolises of Istanbul and Ankara by a clear margin, but the CHP also won the next eight megacities.
For the first time in more than 40 years, the CHP also became the country's first party. With 37.70 percent, it surpassed the AKP, which obtained 35.30 percent, by more than two percent.
The air is becoming increasingly thinner for the successful Erdogan. Because the CHP not only won in the cities of the Mediterranean and the Aegean coast, as in the local elections five years ago, but also managed to score points in the former AKP strongholds in the interior.
Furthermore, Erdogan has now faced serious competition from the right-wing religious camp in these elections for the first time since he came to power 22 years ago. The Islamic Yenid Refah Partisi, founded by the son of legendary Islamist leader Necmettin Erbakan, managed to unseat the AKP from first place in the conservative religious stronghold of Sanliurfa, not far from the Syrian border, and also pushed the AKP. from first place in the AKP's other conservative strongholds, Konya and Kayseri, with less than 20 percent of the vote.
Bad result for the Kurdish party
The Kurdish DEM, formerly HDP, was especially successful in its strongholds in the southeast of the country, but otherwise remained very weak. In Istanbul, the DEM only won just under 2 percent.
The biggest drop was experienced by the right-wing conservative party IYI, which triumphed in the last local elections five years ago in collaboration with the CHP, but now stood alone everywhere and lost heavily almost everywhere.
Voters who wanted to show Erdogan the red card united behind the CHP this time, giving a resurrection of sorts to the Turkish Republic's oldest party.
Particularly important is the party's electoral victory in Istanbul and Ankara. With 51.10 percent of the CHP, compared to only 39.53 percent of the AKP, Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu achieved a convincing victory.
Unlike five years ago, when Imamoglu's first narrow victory was canceled due to pressure from Erdogan and Istanbul had to vote twice, Imamoglu's victory was now never in danger.
The AKP in Ankara literally surpassed by the CHP
Even former AKP strongholds, such as the conservative Üsküdar district and the central Beyoglu district, passed to the CHP. The Erdogan family's private residence is in Üsküdar, and Erdogan was born and raised in Beyoglu.
The CHP's electoral victory in Ankara, the capital, was even more dramatic. With 60.35 percent to 31.84 percent, Erdogan's AKP was practically defeated. Although Erdogan did not formally run in the elections, it was still his defeat.
In Istanbul he personally organized the entire election campaign; Imamoglu's real rival, Murat Kurum, was nothing more than a forgotten candidate since then. But Erdogan also toured all the cities and towns in the country to once again demonstrate the power of the AKP.
Erdogan: Defeat is a turning point in his reign
But, as he himself admitted in the early hours of Monday, for the first time since he came to power 22 years ago, he could no longer achieve his goals. It is a historic defeat and, as he himself admitted, a turning point in his reign.
He can probably now forget his most important goal: a new constitution in which Islam would have been declared the state religion again and secular Turkey would have been buried.
His megaproject to build a shipping canal from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, as well as the Bosphorus, is probably no longer possible despite the determined resistance of the Istanbul city government and the majority of the population.
Erdogan's defeat is undoubtedly a consequence of the poor economic situation. Due to persistent high inflation, the population is becoming dramatically poorer. But it wasn't just that. Most Turkish citizens are tired of the long-term rule of Erdogan and his AKP. The magic that eroded Erdogan as a great charismatic leader is over.
“Victory of democracy”
In his evening speech, Erdogan said these elections were a victory for democracy. He's actually right about that. Despite all the totalitarian tendencies that Erdogan had after the 2018 constitutional change, which effectively made the president the sole ruler, the opposition was able to prevail in the democratic elections.
This gives the opposition hope for presidential elections in four years. After his victory in Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu is now finally the opposition's strongman. At only 53 years old, the future belongs to him compared to the 70-year-old Erdogan.