In south-east Turkey, the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party took 10 provinces while the Erdogan-allied Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, won eight scattered across the country.The New Welfare Party, or YRP, which largely competed with the AKP over the support of conservative voters, took two provinces. It was the third biggest party in terms of nationwide votes, taking 6.2%.The IYI Party and the Great Unity Party won the remaining two provinces.Following last year’s discouraging defeat, some had expected the opposition to perform poorly in Sunday’s election.However, a change in leadership in the CHP – from the 75-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu to Ozgur Ozel, 49 – appeared to have revitalized the party and paved the way for incumbent CHP mayors and other candidates to secure conclusive victories.Analysts contrasted the strong candidates fielded by the opposition – such as Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul and Mansur Yavas in Ankara – to those standing for the AKP, largely overshadowed by Erdogan during the campaign.Imamoglu won by a margin of more than 11 points while Yavas secured a gap of nearly 29 points on his AKP rival. The results are set to boost Imamoglu’s standing as a potential challenger for the presidency in 2028.“Leadership is becoming more important than parties and ideologies,” Demiralp said. “Especially in a country like Turkey where institutions are weak, people connect to leaders rather than parties and other institutions.”Locals in Istanbul going about their business on Monday morning had mixed views of the election results.“We woke up to a good day. I believe (the results) will be beneficial for our country,” opposition supporter Ayse Poplata said.Hicabi Pekdemir, 54, pointed to a six-fold increase in his rent over the last two years as why he voted against the AKP: “Turkey has woken up … I live by myself and I have two kids. How do I make ends meet?”Meanwhile, Fatma Hanedar, 40, said she was “devastated and very upset” by the outcome. “There shouldn’t have been such ungratefulness,” she said, citing Turkey’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilding efforts after last year’s earthquake in southern Turkey as government successes.AKP supporter Husamettin Ezer, 52, also criticized “ungrateful” voters. “Thank God our president is still at the helm,” he added.
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