Turkey’s main opposition party yesterday claimed victory in Istanbul and Ankara, with its rising political star emerging from local elections as a serious challenger to veteran Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan, addressing supporters at his party’s headquarters in Ankara, acknowledged a “turning point” for his party and promised to respect the results.
Partial results from across the nation of 85 million people showed major advances for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) at the expense of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) that has dominated politics for more than two decades.
Photo: AFP
Erdogan, 70, had launched an all-out personal campaign to win back Istanbul, the economic powerhouse where he was once mayor.
However, rampant inflation and an economic crisis have hit confidence in the ruling party.
With 96 percent of ballot boxes opened, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, of the CHP, said he had seen off the challenge from Erdogan’s candidate by more than 1 million votes.
Large crowds filled the square outside the party’s Istanbul city headquarters waving Turkish flags and lighting torches to celebrate the result.
After casting his vote, Imamoglu emerged to applause and chants of “Everything will be fine,” the slogan he used when he first took city hall from the AKP in 2019.
The 52-year-old is increasingly seen as the biggest rival to Erdogan’s AKP ahead of the next presidential election in 2028.
In Ankara, Mayor Mansur Yavas, also of the CHP, claimed victory in front of large crowds of supporters, declaring “the elections are over, we will continue to serve Ankara.”
“Those who have been ignored have sent a clear message to those who rule this country,” he added.
Yavas led with 58.6 percent of the vote to 33.5 percent for his AKP opponent, with 46.4 percent of ballot boxes opened.
The CHP was also ahead in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, and Antalya, where party supporters flooded onto the streets. Even some AKP stronghold towns were at risk of being lost, results indicated.
Erdogan acknowledged the electoral setback in a speech to supporters at the headquarters of his party.
“Unfortunately, we have not obtained the results that we wanted,” he told a subdued crowd.
“We will of course respect the decision of the nation. We will avoid being stubborn, acting against the national will and questioning the power of the nation,” he added.
Erdogan has been president since 2014. While he dominated the campaign, his personal role did not help overcome widespread concerns over the country’s economy.
“Everyone is worried about the day-to-day,” 43-year-old Istanbul resident Guler Kaya said as she voted.
“The crisis is swallowing up the middle class. We have had to change all our habits,” she said. “If Erdogan wins, it will get even worse.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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