For the first time in history, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party fell behind the main opposition Republican People’s Party in Turkey’s municipal elections.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party suffered an unprecedented defeat in the March 31 election from the country’s main opposition party. According to preliminary results, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) fell behind the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in municipal elections for the first time in history, Bloomberg wrote.
It was noted that the support of the AKP was 35.5%, and the CHP – 37.7% (according to the number, 100% of the votes). The CHP is leading the race in 35 provinces, up from 21 in the last election.
Erdogan conceded defeat in an address to his fans.
“The elections on March 31 will be a turning point. We did not achieve the results we expected in the local elections,” Erdogan said.
The publication notes that this vote is seen as the biggest battle between Turkey’s two most prominent political rivals.
The results show that in most of the country, voters have turned their backs on the ruling party, mainly because of persistently high inflation even though Erdogan has allowed the central bank to raise the country’s key interest rate to 50 %.
Erdogan, who conceded his party’s defeat, emphasized that Turkey’s local elections are a demonstration of Turkish democracy.
“Regardless of the results, the winner of these elections is, first of all, our democracy, the will of our people. The winners of the election marathon, first of all, are not the candidates, but Turkey , all 85 million citizens of the country, regardless of their political affiliation,” the publication quoted Erdogan as saying Anatolia.
Stressing that there is nothing higher than the freedom of the people, Erdogan expressed gratitude to all the voters who went to the polling stations and made their choice.
At the end of his speech, President Erdogan spoke of the importance of the next four years for the country and called for their effective use.
It was previously reported that in Turkey, in the village of Diyarbakir in the district of Agaclidere, disputes between those gathered at a polling station escalated into violent shooting clashes, as a result of which one person died and more out of 10 were injured.
Source: korrespondent
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