Blow to Turkey's Erdogan as opposition wins big in Istanbul

By Ezgi Erkoyun and Ali Kucukgocmen

 

Ekrem Imamoglu, mayoral candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), greets supporters at a rally of in Beylikduzu district, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 23, 2019. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan

 

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition claimed a decisive victory on Sunday in Istanbul's re-run election, dealing one of the biggest blows to President Tayyip Erdogan during his 16 years in power and promising a new beginning in the country's largest city.

 

Ekrem Imamoglu, mayoral candidate of the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP), was leading with 54% of votes versus 45% for Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) candidate, with more than 99% of ballots opened, Turkish broadcasters said.

 

The election was Istanbul's second in three months after results of an initial March vote were scrapped, setting up the do-over as a test of Turks' ability to check what many saw as their president's increasingly authoritarian power.

 

"Today, 16 million Istanbul residents have renewed our faith in democracy and refreshed our trust in justice," Imamoglu told supporters.

 

His AKP opponent, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, congratulated him and wished him "all the luck" in serving Istanbul, Turkey's commercial hub. Erdogan also tweeted his congratulations to the CHP candidate.

 

Imamoglu had won the original mayoral election on March 31 by a narrow margin, which prompted the Islamist-rooted AKP to demand a re-run, citing what it said were voting irregularities.

 

The High Election Board's decision to grant that request drew sharp criticism from Turkey's Western allies and from Erdogan's opponents at home, stirring concerns about the rule of law and raising the stakes for the re-run.

 

Broadcasters put the CHP's lead on Sunday at about 800,000 votes, eclipsing the roughly 13,000-vote margin in March.

 

The election board said it would announce the election results as soon as possible.

 

"While March 31 was a mayoral election, this re-run was one to put an end to the dictatorship," said Gulcan Demirkaya, 48, from the city's AKP-leaning Kagithane district.

 

"God willing, I would like to see (Imamoglu) as the president in five years' time," she said. "The one-man rule should come to an end. For the first time in a long time, I am very happy and proud for my country."

 

JUSTICE AND LOVE

Imamoglu, a former businessman and district mayor who waged an inclusive campaign and avoided criticising Erdogan, said he was ready to work with the AKP to tackle Istanbul's problems, including its transport gridlock and the needs of its Syrian refugees.

 

"In this new page in Istanbul, there will from now on be justice, equality, love, tolerance; while misspending (of public funds), pomp, arrogance and the alienation of the other will end," he said.

 

The handover of power in the mayor's office could shed further light on what Imamoglu said was the misspending of billions of lira at the Istanbul municipality, which has a budget of around $4 billion.

 

Erdogan himself served as Istanbul's mayor in the 1990s before he embarked on a national political career, dominating Turkish politics first as prime minister, then as president. He presided over years of strong economic growth. But critics say he has become increasingly autocratic and intolerant of dissent.

 

The second defeat in Istanbul marked a major embarrassment for the president and could also weaken what until recently seemed to be his iron grip on power. He had campaigned hard and targeted Imamoglu directly with accusations of lying and cheating.

 

"This is definitely going to have an impact on the future of Turkish politics given the margin of victory. It's an alarming sign for the AKP establishment," said Sinan Ulgen, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels and a former Turkish diplomat.

 

Analysts say the loss could set off a Cabinet reshuffle in Ankara and adjustments to foreign policy. It could even trigger a national election earlier than 2023 as scheduled, although the leader of the AKP's nationalist ally played down that prospect.

 

"Turkey should now return to its real agenda, the election process should close," MHP party leader Devlet Bahceli said. "Talking of an early election would be among the worst things that can be done to our country."

 

Turkey's economy is in recession and the United States, its NATO ally, has threatened sanctions if Erdogan goes ahead with plans to install Russian missile defences.

 

The uncertainty over the fate of Istanbul and potential delays in broader economic reforms have kept financial markets on edge.

 

Turkey's lira currency tumbled after the decision to annul the March vote and is down nearly 10% this year in part on election jitters. It edged higher on Sunday night.

 

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Ali Kucukgocmen; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Daren Butler, Ece Toksabay, Eylul Aytan and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Gareth Jones and Peter Cooney)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-24

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Good!

Good yes,  I bet they end up with civil war, as Erdogan wants power at any cost, as he will be [possible have to face the courts for fraud and misuse of funds and other matters while in power if he steps down

Erdogan is a tyrant, a brute megalomaniac and a sultan wannabe at any cost, crowning himself to be the protector of the faith, the Palestinian cause and the pride of Turkey, obliterating and locking up anyone that stand in his way,and the sooner he will go the better Turkey will be...

Great news. It was Dictator Erdogan who ordered the re-run due to "irregularities". Now it has backfired on him AGAIN! Yippee.

41 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Great news. It was Dictator Erdogan who ordered the re-run due to "irregularities". Now it has backfired on him AGAIN! Yippee.

A sort of muslim brexit referendum.

Back fired on him big time

Sent from my SM-T580 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

Erdogan is a tyrant, a brute megalomaniac and a sultan wannabe at any cost, crowning himself to be the protector of the faith, the Palestinian cause and the pride of Turkey, obliterating and locking up anyone that stand in his way,and the sooner he will go the better Turkey will be...

Unfortunately, if he is all the things that you describe (and I rather agree with you) then he is unlikely to "go".

I hope the new mayor is as clean as the drive snow or Erdogan will have him up on charges and locked away faster the you can say kebab.

Sadly, only a very minor blow.

 

He basically controls all the key institutions in Turkey. The army, the police, the judiciary, most universities, most of the mainstream media.......the list goes on.

 

Yes, Istanbul is significant in many ways but mayors in Turkey have limited power in affecting general politics, especially now that Turkey has basically become a 'one-man-rules' country. A simple example : if a group wants to hold a demo in a city, if the governor (governors in Turkey are government-appointed) of that city decides to ban it, the mayor of the city cannot do anything about it.

 

The presidential election in Turkey is in 2023. There is little chance of Erdogan losing it. He will do everything in his power to make sure he stays in power for at least 5 more years after 2023. Don't forget that a not-so-little part of Erdogan's base consists of militant guys, mostly of the Islamist type. These most probably include many foreigners (mainly Syrians), who spent several years fighting in Syria and Iraq and then fled to Turkey with the defeat of ISIS. If any kind of secularist revolt happens against Erdogan, my guess is that it will be put down easily and brutally, with help from these war-hardened terrorists who are of course ideologically loyal to Erdogan. Does anyone here actually think that Erdogan has ever been serious about fighting Islamist terrorism ?! 

 

The West has sadly mostly been quiet when it came to atrocities, human rights violations, etc. committed by Erdogan (they have been quiet mainly due to the 'refugee/migrant factor'). I don't see this changing.

 

I don't see much hope for Turkey unfortunately. The only hope might be for a significant number of Erdogan's current supporters turning away from him in the near future. It might happen, but maybe 10-20 percent chance.

Coming headline? "New mayor falls from hotel balcony; quickly ruled drunken accident" 

be a bit positive.

bigot erdogan was controlling everything before this election too where he lost.

and his grip meant nothing and in a city like Istanbul run by AKP and everything AKP. still opposition won and won two times in a row.

after this big slap to erdogan, my hopes are greater for Turkey as most people awaken and not scare of the fascist tactics anymore.

world is watching too.

in 2023 elections (i expect it in 2022) erdogan will lose. this election blow marked the end of AKP.

2 factions from AKP is forming two different parties as well. which is another major blow to AKP and Erdogan. AKP is divided. 1/4 of its current parliament members of AKP rumored to move tho these two new liberal center right parties.

Soon, hopefully, AKP will be history together with Erdogan. with all my hopes.

Kudos for the opposition in Turkey that worked very hard to achieve this.

Erdogan started his political career as the major of istanbul 25 years ago, like Ekrem Imamoglu now.

As Erdogan always say: Whoever wins istanbul, wins Turkey.'

 

6 hours ago, Galactus said:

be a bit positive.

bigot erdogan was controlling everything before this election too where he lost.

and his grip meant nothing and in a city like Istanbul run by AKP and everything AKP. still opposition won and won two times in a row.

after this big slap to erdogan, my hopes are greater for Turkey as most people awaken and not scare of the fascist tactics anymore.

world is watching too.

in 2023 elections (i expect it in 2022) erdogan will lose. this election blow marked the end of AKP.

2 factions from AKP is forming two different parties as well. which is another major blow to AKP and Erdogan. AKP is divided. 1/4 of its current parliament members of AKP rumored to move tho these two new liberal center right parties.

Soon, hopefully, AKP will be history together with Erdogan. with all my hopes.

Kudos for the opposition in Turkey that worked very hard to achieve this.

Erdogan started his political career as the major of istanbul 25 years ago, like Ekrem Imamoglu now.

As Erdogan always say: Whoever wins istanbul, wins Turkey.'

 

 

You are too optimistic.

 

I am sure that you know that there are still dozens of political prisoners in various Turkish jails, including many HDP politicians and activists. You are saying that the world is watching. No, they are not watching (I mean at least the ones who can make a difference are not watching). They haven't threatened Erdogan even with the slightest of sanctions until now, even when the HDP ex-leaders Demirtas and Yuksekdag were arrested and put in jail (and they are still in jail) ! It is likely that very very few of the political prisoners will be released anytime soon.

 

And, what about Afrin ? Afrin has been under Turkish (and its semi-jihadi proxies) occupation for quite long time now. What has the West said about this ? Basically nothing.

 

And, what about the general rights and priviliges of the people in Turkey ? They continue to be eroded (or I mean, at least, the current suppressive state of rights and priviliges is unlikely to change).

 

No, I am not that hopeful. I will say my classical line : 'I hope time (time that is not too long) will prove my gloomy guesses wrong'. But I am afraid it won't.

 

Well, of course, eventually, Erdogan will go/be defeated, but maybe only after MANY MANY YEARS. And, think of the damage that will be done by then.