Turkish local elections 2024: A seismic shift in power dynamics

ANKARA: After millions of Turkish voters went to the polls on Sunday to elect local authorities in 81 provinces, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, suffered a major blow as the main opposition CHP scored victories across the country, consolidating its control in conservative strongholds with its biggest victory since 1977.

Experts suggested Sunday’s vote was a barometer of the national feeling among voters who have long struggled with a severe cost of living crisis.

The main question of the mayoral election was whether incumbent Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, 52, an arch-rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a charismatic leader in his own right, could secure re-election in the city of 15.7 million people, against rival Murat Kurum, 47, the AKP candidate and the country’s former urbanization minister.

Erdogan, who was mayor of Istanbul himself between 1994 and 1997, once claimed that whoever wins the city will be able to dominate the whole country in a general election.

With a third of Turkiye’s economic output and 18 percent of the country’s population, Istanbul’s annual budget is $16 billion.

In the last local elections in 2019, Turkiye’s united opposition won the main cities of Ankara, the capital, and Istanbul, the commercial hub, ending the ruling party’s 25-year reign.

Erdogan, 70, conceded defeat, saying: “March 31 is not an end for us, but a turning point.”

The president’s current term of office expires in four years. The AKP’s loss of votes nationally and defeats in major cities are expected to prevent it from initiating new constitutional changes that would allow Erdogan to rule beyond 2028.