Erdogan admits his party’s decline in the municipal elections and the opposition proclaims itself the winner

The social democratic party CHP, the formation that leads the opposition in Turkey, was declared the winner in the municipal elections this Sunday, leading the count in the most important cities of the country. For his part, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted in a speech his party’s setback in the elections and assured that “democracy wins.”

«We have not achieved the results we expected“said the president in a speech in Ankara, broadcast live on the NTV network.

With 90% of the ballots counted, Erdogan’s party, the Islamist AKP, loses the majority of the vote for the first time in two decades to the advance of the social democratic CHP, which leads it by 1.5 points, more than half a million votes.

«The winner in these elections is democracy“Erdogan said, adding that”the nation has spoken and decided«.

«This is not an end, but a turning point«Erdogan commented, recalling that there are four years left until the next general elections.

«We will keep going, we will keep winning: I believe in you«the president insisted.

Erdogan suffers severe setback

The AKP ruled 38 provincial capitals since the 2019 municipal capitals, but if the results are confirmed, it will only have 23 from now on, while the CHP has risen from 22 to 36, including some AKP strongholds, such as Bursa, the fourth city in the country.

It also widened its lead in Istanbul and Ankara, cities it wrested from the AKP in 2019 after a quarter-century of Islamist municipal governments.

Likewise, the pro-Kurdish leftist party DEM, formerly HDP, advanced, rising from 8 to 10 provincial capitals, while the ultranationalist MHP, an ally of Erdogan, fell from 11 to eight.

In two strongholds of the AKP, the important city of Sanliurfa in the southeast and Yozgat in central Anatolia, the fundamentalist Islamist party Yeniden Refah (YRP) has won, until now an ally of Erdogan, but which in these elections has decided to run for separated and has become the third force in votes, with 6%.

The moderate nationalist IYI, until now an ally of the CHP, and the ultranationalist BBP each won one province in central Anatolia.