Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), declared victory in the mayoral race in Ankara as the party scored a solid lead in the vote-count for control of Istanbul, according to partial results.
“The elections are over. We will continue to serve Ankara,” Mayor Mansur Yavas said.
Yavas was ahead with 58.6 percent of the vote compared to 33.5 percent for his opponent from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), from 46.4 percent of ballots counted.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu had 50.4 percent of the vote compared to his AKP rival’s 40.9 percent, with 71 percent of the ballots counted.
Turkey has been dominated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for more than two decades.
Erdogan conducted an all-out campaign to win back Istanbul, which was lost to the CHP in 2019.
