Erdogan’s AKP is threatening a serious defeat in the local elections. Trump provokes with fascinating video of Biden

After about a third of the votes were counted, the main opposition party CHP was narrowly ahead of the AKP nationally on Sunday (about 37 percent) with about 39 percent, state news agency Anadolu reported, citing unofficial preliminary figures. In the previous local elections in 2019, the AKP received 44 percent of the votes. Unofficial results showed Erdogan’s AKP headed for defeat in the five most populous cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, the state agency said. The first official results were expected later in the evening.

About 61 million people in 81 provinces were called on Sunday to elect mayors, municipal councilors and other local politicians. The vote was seen as an important barometer of the mood and an indication of the country’s political future. There were deadly clashes in the southeast in connection with the vote.

Erdogan’s main goal was to regain the metropolis of Istanbul with his AKP. Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition CHP party wrested power in Istanbul from Erdogan’s ruling AKP in 2019, ending 25 years of rule by Islamic conservative parties. The AKP had canceled the elections at the time. In the second round, Imamoglu won by an even greater margin; the success is considered the most serious setback in Erdogan’s political career to date. Erdogan’s political rise began in Istanbul when he was elected mayor in 1994.

One person was killed and 11 others were injured on Sunday in the southeastern Turkish metropolis of Diyarbakir after a dispute over the election of a community leader escalated, state news agency Anadolu reported. A dispute over the elections also escalated in the province of Siirt, leaving one person dead.

The elections took place under difficult circumstances: the high inflation rate and the economic situation may have cost Erdogan’s party votes. The opposition, which ran as an alliance in the 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections, was in turn seen as divided and no longer functioning as a unit.

The election campaign was considered unfair: much of the media in Turkey is under direct or indirect government control. Initially, no major voting irregularities were reported. The DEM party said officials in Turkey’s southeastern province of Sanliurfa tried to vote in more than one ballot box. This was prevented and documented.

A delegation from the Council of Europe and the Left Party observed the elections on site. Thousands of volunteers also had to ensure an orderly process. Shortly before the elections, the Oy ve Ötesi association said it had been able to recruit 30,000 people. That is more than in the local elections in 2019, but considerably less than in the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023, where 200,000 people registered as election workers. (dabbing/sda/dpa)