The candidate of the opposition Republican People’s Party in Turkey, Ekrem Imamoglu, announced his victory as mayor of Istanbul, saying that he was ahead of his rival, Murat Kurum, by a margin of “one million votes.”
Imamoglu added in his first speech after counting more than 70 percent of the ballot boxes: “We won the municipalities of 14 regions that were with us in the last period in Istanbul, and we added new municipalities to them, and we are awaiting the resolution of the vote counting in them.”
He continued: “I can say now that the people of Istanbul have given us the authority to manage the Istanbul municipality for a second term.”
He also pointed out that “their goals were achieved at the regional level as well.”
For his part, the Republican People’s Party candidate in Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, said after announcing victory in the elections that “the loser is Turgut Altinok (the ruling coalition candidate).”
He added: “Our citizens have decided, and we respect that. Good luck.”
The preliminary results of the municipal elections, which began on Sunday morning, show a landslide victory achieved by the Republican People’s Party, the largest opposition party, in most major Turkish cities.
On the other hand, the ruling “public” coalition, formed by the ruling “Justice and Development Party” and the “National Movement,” suffered a resounding loss, especially in Istanbul, Ankara, and other major Turkish cities, including Izmir and Antalya.
The Supreme Election Commission is scheduled to officially announce the election results in the coming hours.
There was no comment from the ruling Public Alliance at the time of preparing this report.
The Turkish Communications Presidency said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will deliver a speech from his party headquarters in the capital, Ankara, at 12:30 local time.
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2024-03-31 21:04:32
