Correspondent in Istanbul
The first results of the local elections illustrate a significant decline in the AKP, Erdogan's party in power for two decades. According to the partial counting of the ballot boxes, this Sunday evening, March 31, the opposition party CHP retained control of the two “flagship” cities won in 2019, Ankara, the capital, and Istanbul, which the “reis” wanted at all costs reconquer.
On 63% of the ballot boxes counted at 10:30 p.m. local time, according to the Anadolu agency, Mansur Yavas was on track to be re-elected with 58.93% against 33.15% for his AKP opponent. As for Ekrem Imamoglu, he was credited with 50.44%. against 40.43% for his main opponent from the ruling party.
Race for the 2028 presidential election
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in power for more than two decades, had nevertheless thrown all his weight into the campaign, particularly in Istanbul, the cultural capital of Turkey where he was mayor in the 1990s.
In addition to his numerous trips across the country, he has openly…
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