2024-04-01 13:06:31
Partial results obtained throughout the 85 million populous country, showed the Republican People’s Party (CHP) gaining a large lead at the expense of RT Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Opposition Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu announced that he had been re-elected after almost all votes had been counted, telling a euphoric crowd of supporters: “Tomorrow a new day of spring will dawn in our country.”
The country’s election commission is expected to announce the final results on Monday.
RT Erdogan, 70, has waged a personal campaign to win back Istanbul, the economic powerhouse of which he once served as mayor. However, massive inflation and economic crisis undermined confidence in the ruling party.
Huge crowds filled the square outside the opposition party’s headquarters in Istanbul, waving Turkish flags and burning torches in celebration of the results.
After casting his vote, Imamoglu went outside to applause and chants of “Everything will be fine,” the slogan he used when he first took over the city hall from the AKP in 2019.
The 52-year-old E. Imamoglu is increasingly considered the biggest rival of RT Erdogan’s AKP during the next presidential election in 2028.
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, also of the CHP, declared victory in front of a large crowd of supporters, declaring: “The election is over, we will continue to serve Ankara.”
“Those who were ignored sent a clear message to those who run this country,” he added.
M. Yavas was in the lead with 58.6 percent. of voters’ votes, while his opponent from the AKP – 33.5 percent. votes, when 46.4 percent were counted. of votes.
Opposition supporters also celebrated the victory in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, as well as in the southern city of Antalya. The results show that the AKP may lose even in those cities that were considered the party’s stronghold.
“The voters decided to change the face of Turkey,” said CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel after the results were announced. “They want to open the door to a new political climate in our country.”
About 61 million of people had the right to vote for mayors in 81 Turkish provinces, as well as members of provincial councils and other local officials.
Inflation in Turkey is 67 percent, and the lira has fallen from 19 to 32 per US dollar during the year.
Clashes in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast have left one person dead and 12 injured, a local official told AFP.
The pro-Kurdish DEM party said it had found irregularities in “almost all Kurdish provinces”, particularly suspicious cases of proxy voting.
Observers from France were not allowed to enter one of the polling stations in the region, according to the legal association MLSA.
2024-04-01 13:06:31