Erdogan’s Party Loses Ankara, Istanbul Results Too Close to Call

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP) has lost control of the capital Ankara in municipal elections. It is the first time his party lost the capital in a local election since it was founded in 2001. AKP and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) both declared a narrow victory in Istanbul, the country’s largest city and Erdogan’s hometown. However, the head of the country’s High Election Board said on Monday that CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu was ahead in the vote count against the AKP’s Binali Yildrim. The official did not specify the percentage of the vote that had been counted from the Sunday elections. Losing Istanbul would be a major blow for Erdogan given that he was mayor there in the 1990s. It is also where he launched his political career. Erdogan campaigned for two months ahead of Sunday’s vote. The country has been suffering from high inflation and unemployment rates, and its currency has lost 40 percent of its value against the US.