As of: April 9, 2024, 7:00 a.m
By: Mayls Majurani
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The opponents in the Turkish election were Erdogan (l.) and his challenger Imamoglu. © Emrah Gurel/dpa
Turkey has voted. And different than usual. For the first time since its founding, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP became only the second strongest party in an election. This also surprised many citizens in the district, especially those with personal ties to Turkey.
Erding - Turan Aslan, whom the people of Dorfen affectionately call “Tuti”, did not expect this result to be so clear: “Erdogan has won every election so far. Of course I was surprised,” he says. The 47-year-old restaurateur reveals that he wasn't particularly interested in the election. Aslan was born in Eastern Anatolia and grew up in Germany. “The local elections primarily affect the people who live there. You have to accept your decision. I live in Dorfen,” he says. In Aslan's birthplace, Malatya, everything remained the same: the AKP defended the mayor's office.
Gül Karahan from Erding, on the other hand, was very interested in the election. “I had the television on until late at night,” she says. The 72-year-old pensioner, formerly a nurse at the Erding Clinic, now spends around three months of the year in Turkey. “It’s nice that a social democratic party has finally become so successful,” she says happily.
The opposition CHP has not had a better result since 1977. It now rules in 35 of 81 provincial capitals, the AKP only in 24.
“The CHP had already won in large cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya in 2019,” remembers Ugur Turan. Although he did not expect the AKP to come back in these cities, the overall result also surprised the 48-year-old. Turan was born in Denizli in western Turkey and came to the district as a toddler. In his hometown, the AKP lost to the opposition. “Because of inflation,” Turan believes. “People can no longer afford anything. And now they’ve had enough.”
Mehmet Altinisik from Erding sees it that way too. “People in Turkey have been complaining about rising prices for a long time.” It was foreseeable, says 53-year-old Erdinger, that the ruling party would lose votes. In a local election, it always depends on the candidate, the computer scientist knows: In his home community of Carsamba, a suburb of the city of Samsun on the Black Sea, an independent candidate prevailed against the incumbent AKP. “He was mayor a few times ago and probably did a good job back then,” says Altintisik, but emphasizes: “I’m only there two or three weeks a year and can’t really judge it.”
Another reason for the AKP's poor performance: “its arrogance,” believes Turan. “They have won every election for 20 years and have developed great arrogance in the process.” The AKP's tone has become increasingly harsh over the years and more and more people are bothered by it and have now punished it.
“The AKP now has to find its mistakes and think about it,” says Karahan, hoping that there are only winners in this election. Erdogan has until the next election in 2028 to convince voters of himself again. His previous line no longer seems to be working. ma