Partial results show that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party is in the lead in Sunday’s local elections, that are seen as a test for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
With 44.2 percent of the votes counted as of 8pm (17:00 GMT), an AK Party-led alliance had secured 52.3 percent of the votes countrywide, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.
It was followed by a coalition led by the main opposition centre-left Republican People’s Party, with 37.8 of the votes.
Turks voted on Sunday in local elections, which President Tayyip Erdogan has described as a matter of survival for Turkey and which were tarnished by violence that left two party members dead in the country’s southeast.
The elections are being viewed as a crucial test for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as the country’s economic woes bite into his popular support.
At least 57 million people were eligible to vote on Sunday in contests in 30 cities and more than 900 districts around the country. While the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) has won every vote since it first took office in 2002, for the first time the party is facing the prospect of significant defeat in several places, including the capital, Ankara.
Voters living in Turkey’s larger cities voted to elect a mayor for the entire city, as well as district municipal mayors, city council members, muhtars (neighborhood officials), and members of elder councils.
The voters chose from 12 political parties competing in the local elections.
Follow results here. (Hurriyett)
Erdoğan’s 16 years in office have been distinguished by consistently strong economic growth, but last year’s currency crisis has officially triggered a recession. Inflation is hovering at about 20%, sending the cost of living soaring for working-class AKP voters.
The president is not on the ballot himself, but he has campaigned tirelessly over the last few weeks in an attempt to draw attention away from the economy. He has framed the local elections as a matter of “national survival”, accusing opposition parties of links to terrorism and blaming inflation on foreign powers seeking to undermine the country.
Despite his efforts, in Ankara opinion polls suggest the main opposition bloc’s mayoral candidate, Mansur Yavaş, is on track to end AKP’s longtime control of the capital.
The opposition also hopes dissatisfaction at inflation and rising unemployment will be enough to dissuade working-class AKP voters from turning out in other cities.
Via The Guardian / France 24 / Hurriyet
