03-31-2024, 08:18 PM
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68704375
Turkey's main opposition party is closing in on victory in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara, in high-stakes local elections.
Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the city in 2019, said that he was "very happy" so far.
A year after Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured a third term as president, he had made it his goal to win back the city where he grew up and became mayor.
But the night belonged to the opposition as it closed in on victory.
With 80% the vote counted in Istanbul, Mr Imamoglu was almost 10 points ahead of his rival from Mr Erdogan's AK Party.
In the capital Ankara, his colleague in the secular opposition CHP, Mansur Yavas, was so far ahead of his rival that he declared victory when less than half the votes were in.
President Erdogan, 70, had led his party's election campaign in Istanbul, vowing a new era in Turkey's biggest city. The outcome was being as a significant blow for the man who has led Turkey for the past 21 years.
Significantly, the opposition CHP was also leading in many of Turkey's other big cities, including Izmir and Bursa, and the resort of Antalya.
Crowds in Istanbul, a megacity of almost 16 million people, gathered outside one of the main town halls. They waved Turkish flags and banners showing Mr Imamoglu's picture alongside Turkey's founding father Kemal Ataturk.
"I can say that our citizens' trust and faith in us has been rewarded," said Mr Imamoglu.
Both he and Mansur Yavas are seen as potential candidates to run for the presidency in 2028.
Turkey's main opposition party is closing in on victory in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara, in high-stakes local elections.
Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the city in 2019, said that he was "very happy" so far.
A year after Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured a third term as president, he had made it his goal to win back the city where he grew up and became mayor.
But the night belonged to the opposition as it closed in on victory.
With 80% the vote counted in Istanbul, Mr Imamoglu was almost 10 points ahead of his rival from Mr Erdogan's AK Party.
In the capital Ankara, his colleague in the secular opposition CHP, Mansur Yavas, was so far ahead of his rival that he declared victory when less than half the votes were in.
President Erdogan, 70, had led his party's election campaign in Istanbul, vowing a new era in Turkey's biggest city. The outcome was being as a significant blow for the man who has led Turkey for the past 21 years.
Significantly, the opposition CHP was also leading in many of Turkey's other big cities, including Izmir and Bursa, and the resort of Antalya.
Crowds in Istanbul, a megacity of almost 16 million people, gathered outside one of the main town halls. They waved Turkish flags and banners showing Mr Imamoglu's picture alongside Turkey's founding father Kemal Ataturk.
"I can say that our citizens' trust and faith in us has been rewarded," said Mr Imamoglu.
Both he and Mansur Yavas are seen as potential candidates to run for the presidency in 2028.
