Polls had predicted a tight contest in Istanbul and possible CHP losses across the country
\n ISTANBUL
\nTurks dealt President Tayyip Erdogan and his party their biggest electoral blow on Sunday in a nationwide local vote that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president\u2019s chief rival.
\nWith most of the votes counted, Imamoglu led by 10 percentage points in the mayoral race in Istanbul, Turkey\u2019s largest city, while his Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP) retained Ankara and gained 15 other mayoral seats in cities nationwide.
\nIt marked the worst defeat for Erdogan and his AK Party (AKP) in their more than two decades in power, and could signal a change in the country\u2019s divided political landscape. Erdogan called it a \u201cturning point\u201d in a post-midnight address.
\nHe and the AKP fared worse than opinion polls predicted due to soaring inflation, dissatisfied Islamist voters and, in Istanbul, Imamoglu\u2019s appeal beyond the CHP\u2019s secular base, analysts said.
\n\u201cThose who do not understand the nation\u2019s message will eventually lose,\u201d Imamoglu, 53, told thousands of jubilant supporters late on Sunday, some of them chanting for Erdogan to resign.
\n\u201cTonight, 16 million Istanbul citizens sent a message to both our rivals and the president,\u201d said the former businessman, who entered politics in 2008 and is now widely touted as a likely presidential challenger.
\nErdogan, who in the 1990s was also mayor of his hometown Istanbul, had campaigned hard ahead of the municipal elections, which analysts described as a gauge of both his support and the opposition\u2019s durability.
\nAddressing crowds gathered at AKP headquarters in Ankara, the capital, Erdogan said his alliance had \u201clost altitude\u201d across the nation and will take steps to address the message from voters.
\n\u201cIf we made a mistake, we will fix it\u201d in the years ahead, he said. \u201cIf we have anything missing, we will complete it.\u201d
\nElsewhere in Ankara, thousands more supporters had earlier waved Turkish and party flags for a speech by reelected CHP Mayor Mansur Yavas, who trounced his AKP challenger in another disappointment for Erdogan.
\nAccording to 92.92% of ballot boxes opened in Istanbul, Europe\u2019s largest city and the country\u2019s economic engine, Imamoglu had 50.92% support compared with 40.05% for AKP challenger Murat Kurum, a former minister in Erdogan\u2019s national government.
\nPolls had predicted a tight contest in Istanbul and possible CHP losses across the country.
\nYet partial official results reported by state-run Anadolu Agency showed AKP and its main ally giving up mayoralties in 19 key municipalities including big cities Bursa and Balikesir in the industrialised northwest, possibly reflecting strains on wage earners.
\nThe CHP led nationwide by almost 1% of the votes, a first in 35 years, the results showed.
\nMert Arslanalp, assistant professor of political science at Istanbul\u2019s Bogazici University, said it was Erdogan\u2019s \u201cseverest election defeat\u201d since coming to national power in 2002.
\n\u201cImamoglu demonstrated he could reach across the deep socio-political divisions that define Turkey\u2019s opposition electorate even without their institutional support,\u201d he said. \u201cThis makes him the most politically competitive rival to Erdogan\u2019s regime.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Polls had predicted a tight contest in Istanbul and possible CHP losses across the country ISTANBUL Turks dealt President Tayyip Erdogan and his party their biggest electoral blow on Sunday in a nationwide local vote that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president\u2019s chief rival. With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-397817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n