Tremor in the Bosporus

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Efforts by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to retake key cities in Sunday’s local elections were stunningly rebuffed with the opposition party winning historic victories in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, early results showed Monday, the BBC reported.

Voters in Istanbul re-elected Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu of the opposition Republican People’s Party(CHP), a fierce critic of Erdogan, with more than 50 percent of the vote, beating the AKP’s candidate, the former Environment Minister Murat Kurum, in mayoral and municipal polls held across the country’s 81 provinces. The CHP also retook Ankara.

The AKP had hoped to reclaim the two cities among others, including Izmir, in the polls held nearly a year after Erdogan and the AKP won the closely fought presidential and parliamentary election, the Wall Street Journal reported.

But political analysts said Imamoğlu’s victory in Istanbul, the country’s largest city and a global center of culture and trade that accounts for 30 percent of Turkey’s total gross domestic product, would have far-reaching consequences in Turkish politics and for Erdogan who consolidated his power over more than 20 years as Turkey’s top leader, analysts said.

That’s because retaining control of the city bolsters the opposition following its unsuccessful attempt to unseat Erdogan in last year’s presidential vote. The win for Imamoğlu – seen as a potential presidential candidate – boosts the opposition’s efforts to loosen Erdogan’s grip on power.

The self-described social democrat mayor campaigned to expand social services, while Kurum vowed to develop transportation in the city.

The chief concern among voters remains the Turkish economy, which has plunged into crisis in recent years. Others also worry about the risks of earthquakes following last year’s destructive double quakes that killed more than 50,000 and devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Imamoğlu also pledged to better prepare Istanbul for potential earthquakes, as the commercial capital sits near a fault line.