Opposition edges ahead in key Turkey polls: early partial results
Turkey's President and leader of Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) with his wife Emine Erdogan (R) leaves the poll station after casting his ballot, in Uskudar district in Istanbul, on 31 March 2024. Turkish citizens head to the polls on 31 March 2024, in local elections as the President sets his sights on winning back Istanbul, the country's economic powerhouse, after he was re-elected head of state in a tight contest last year. The latest elections come in the throes of an economic crisis that saw the inflation rate surge to 67.1 percent and the Turkish currency crumble against dollar.
OZAN KOSE / AFP
Turkey's opposition took an early lead in the count for control of the key cities of Istanbul and Ankara after local elections Sunday, state media said.
With 20 percent of ballot boxes opened, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was ahead with 49.6 percent of votes compared with 41.6 percent for the candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In the capital Ankara, with 12 percent of ballot boxes opened, the current CHP mayor was leading with 56.3 percent, compared with 36.3 percent for AKP.
"Based on the data we have obtained, I can say that our citizens' faith in us has been rewarded," Imamoglu told reporters at the CHP's Istanbul headquarters.
"The picture we have seen now pleases us greatly, but no election is finalised before it is over," he added.
"I would like to thank all of us, our citizens, from the bottom of my heart for fulfilling this sacred duty," said Imamoglu who first took Istanbul from the AKP in 2019.