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A surprise set of results has given Turkey’s main opposition party a major boost and enhanced the prospects of democratic renewalLess than a year ago, Turkey’s main opposition parties were in a slough of despond. Defying their predictions, the country’s authoritarian leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, comfortably <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/28/polls-close-in-second-round-of-the-turkish-presidential-election#:~:text=Recep%20Tayyip%20Erdo%C4%9Fan%20has%20extended,stark%20and%20persistent%20political%20polarisation.">won</a> a third term in presidential elections held last spring. At the same time, his Justice and Development party (AKP) emerged more powerful from a parliamentary poll, despite the economy tanking and dissatisfaction at the government’s response to the worst <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/02/2023-turkish-earthquake-then-and-now">earthquake</a> for decades. Years of clientelism, culture wars and overwhelming media dominance appeared to have rendered Mr Erdoğan’s strongman politics all but unassailable at national level.Small wonder then, that a spectacular and unanticipated <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/turkey-local-elections-istanbul-mayor-ekrem-imamoglu-recep-tayyip-erdogan">turnaround</a> at Sunday’s local elections prompted wild celebrations into the early hours. In Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, the incumbent mayor, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/01/who-is-ekrem-imamoglu-istanbul-mayor-recep-tayyip-erdogan-reign-president-ak-party#:~:text=The%20opposition's%20victory%2C%20pushing%20aside,of%20his%20desire%20to%20bring">Ekrem Imamoğlu</a>, trounced Mr Erdoğan’s candidate. Mr Imamoğlu’s Republican People’s party (CHP) also pulled off a clean sweep of other major cities, winning by a landslide in the capital, Ankara, and easily in Izmir. More suprisingly, the CHP managed to chalk up some victories in the conservative towns and villages that make up Mr&nbsp;Erdoğan’s electoral heartland in Anatolia, and near the Black Sea. Gains in those regions for the Islamic far‑right New Welfare party (YRP), at the AKP’s&nbsp;expense, added to the president’s misery. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/01/the-guardian-view-on-erdogan-bad-night-at-the-polls-local-elections-packing-a-national-punch">Continue reading...</a>

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--- !ruby/object:Feedjira::Parser::RSSEntry
published: 2024-04-01 17:25:13.000000000 Z
carlessian_info:
 news_filer_version: 2
 newspaper: US general21
 macro_region: USA
image: https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a14a742381166d1cc5bdad798d9ed16a5857d674/0_0_5424_3254/master/5424.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f1c8fbb35d0a72c8ee50bb99c64e0c6d
entry_id: !ruby/object:Feedjira::Parser::GloballyUniqueIdentifier
 guid: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/01/the-guardian-view-on-erdogan-bad-night-at-the-polls-local-elections-packing-a-national-punch
title: 'The Guardian view on Erdoğan’s bad night at the polls: local elections packing
 a national punch | Editorial'
categories:
- Turkey
- World news
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
summary: A surprise set of results has given Turkey’s main opposition party a major
 boost and enhanced the prospects of democratic renewalLess than a year ago,
 Turkey’s main opposition parties were in a slough of despond. Defying their predictions,
 the country’s authoritarian leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, comfortably <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/28/polls-close-in-second-round-of-the-turkish-presidential-election#:~:text=Recep%20Tayyip%20Erdo%C4%9Fan%20has%20extended,stark%20and%20persistent%20political%20polarisation.">won</a>
 a third term in presidential elections held last spring. At the same time, his Justice
 and Development party (AKP) emerged more powerful from a parliamentary poll, despite
 the economy tanking and dissatisfaction at the government’s response to the worst
 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/02/2023-turkish-earthquake-then-and-now">earthquake</a>
 for decades. Years of clientelism, culture wars and overwhelming media dominance
 appeared to have rendered Mr Erdoğan’s strongman politics all but unassailable at
 national level.Small wonder then, that a spectacular and unanticipated <a
 href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/turkey-local-elections-istanbul-mayor-ekrem-imamoglu-recep-tayyip-erdogan">turnaround</a>
 at Sunday’s local elections prompted wild celebrations into the early hours. In
 Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, the incumbent mayor, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/01/who-is-ekrem-imamoglu-istanbul-mayor-recep-tayyip-erdogan-reign-president-ak-party#:~:text=The%20opposition's%20victory%2C%20pushing%20aside,of%20his%20desire%20to%20bring">Ekrem
 Imamoğlu</a>, trounced Mr Erdoğan’s candidate. Mr Imamoğlu’s Republican People’s
 party (CHP) also pulled off a clean sweep of other major cities, winning by a landslide
 in the capital, Ankara, and easily in Izmir. More suprisingly, the CHP managed to
 chalk up some victories in the conservative towns and villages that make up Mr&nbsp;Erdoğan’s
 electoral heartland in Anatolia, and near the Black Sea. Gains in those regions
 for the Islamic far‑right New Welfare party (YRP), at the AKP’s&nbsp;expense, added
 to the president’s misery. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/01/the-guardian-view-on-erdogan-bad-night-at-the-polls-local-elections-packing-a-national-punch">Continue
 reading...</a>
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url: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/01/the-guardian-view-on-erdogan-bad-night-at-the-polls-local-elections-packing-a-national-punch
author: Editorial

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