Erdogans Partei erlebt in der Türkei die größte Wahlkatastrophe seit mehr als 20 Jahren

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/04/01/erdogan-ak-party-suffers-election-upset/

19 comments

  1. ***The Telegraph reports:***

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party suffered their biggest upset in more than two decades on Sunday as the opposition swept municipal elections in Istanbul and other major cities.

    The Republican People’s Party (CHP) retained mayoral seats in two key cities – Istanbul and the capital, Ankara.

    The CHP also gained 15 new mayoral seats in cities across the country, advancing in locales that were previously strongholds of the Turkish president and his AK Party (AKP), marking the worst defeat since the latter came to power 21 years ago.

    In all, the CHP won 36 municipalities in Turkey’s 81 provinces, according to Anadolu, a state-run news agency.

    Thirty-seven per cent of votes nationwide went to the CHP, compared with 36 per cent for the AKP.

    The historic results could indicate a shift in the country’s fraught political landscape.

    Mr Erdogan called it a “turning point” in a late-night address as the majority of election results began rolling in as Sunday drew to a close.

    His party fared worse than opinion polling had suggested, given serious economic woes and soaring inflation.

    Some of Mr Erdogan’s core Islamist voter base also appeared to be dissatisfied with the president and the AKP, writing “Gaza” and “Free Palestine” on their paper ballots, rather than stamping “evet” or “yes” votes.

    Mr Erdogan, who had capitalised on pro-Palestinian sentiments, has not officially cut diplomatic ties with Israel – a move that appears to have upset some supporters.

    In Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, the incumbent mayor, succeeded in his continued appeal to a secular base.

    “Tonight, 16 million Istanbul citizens sent a message to both our rivals and the president,” Mr Imamoglu told his supporters on Sunday, as some in the crowd chanted for Mr Erdogan to resign.

    “Those who do not understand the nation’s message will eventually lose,” he said.

    Despite some calls for the Turkish president to step down, Mehmet Ucum, his chief adviser said that there would not be snap elections held before 2028, when Mr Erdogan’s current presidential term ends.

    Mr Imamoglu, a businessman who entered politics in 2008, is considered a serious presidential challenger.

    He remains, however, embroiled in various court cases that supporters believe are an attempt to throw up political obstacles.

    In 2022, a Turkish judge sentenced Mr Imamoglu to two and a half years in prison and imposed a political ban; an appeals court has yet to rule on the case.

    **Full story here:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/04/01/erdogan-ak-party-suffers-election-upset/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/04/01/erdogan-ak-party-suffers-election-upset/)

  2. Turkish people decided it’s time to get away from dictatorship and being Russia slaves

  5. Looks like there will be a lot of arrest and stolen elections claims the next couple of days. I doubt Erdogan will take this too well

  6. Everyone is celebrating but forgot he staged a coup last time he was in political danger

  12. He’s been in power for more than 20 years. Of course his loss is an upset lol

  16. Good. NOW TURN HAGIA SOPHIA BACK INTO A MUSEUM and alow non turks into the center sanctum.

  17. losing a lot of the major cities is game changer. feels like a watershed moment for the opposition

  18. All well and good, but last year would have been far better for such a opposition mandate.

    I still don’t understand what Turks were thinking, so soon after he and his party mismanaged inflation + the earthquake catastrophe. Every step of the way, his party seems to have made things worse.

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