According to preliminary data, the opposition party is leading ahead of the ruling party for the first time in 20 years in Turkey, and opposition mayors of major cities – Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir – have retained their positions.
Erdogan acknowledged that the ruling party did not achieve the desired results in the municipal elections, the outcomes of which indicate shortcomings at the local level.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and the candidate of the opposition Republican People's Party, announced that he had won a new term, and his colleague, the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, announced his victory in the elections, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that these elections are "not the end of the road."
Opposition candidates advanced in the three largest Turkish cities (Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir) after about 90% of the votes were counted in the municipal elections held on Sunday.
The Turkish President said in a speech he delivered from the balcony of the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party after midnight, "The municipal elections are not the end of the road, but they are a turning point."
He added, "The people have their say through the fund and send their warning to politicians through the fund, and this is a success for our democracy."
Erdogan pledged to analyze the results of the municipal elections frankly, and said, "We will review ourselves through constructive criticism."
Earlier, Ekrem Imamoglu announced that he had won a new term as mayor of Greater Istanbul, noting that he had an advantage of more than a million votes over his rival, Murat Kurum, the ruling party’s candidate.
Mansur Yavaş, the candidate of the opposition Republican People's Party, also announced that he had won a new term as mayor of Ankara.
According to the results published by the official Anadolu Agency, Imamoglu received 50.9% of the votes, compared to 40% for his competitor, after 94% of the votes were counted.
In Ankara, Yavaş obtained 59.7% compared to 32% for his competitor, after counting about 88% of the votes.
In all Turkish states, the Republican People's Party obtained 37.4% after counting more than 93% of the votes.
The ruling Justice and Development Party received 35.7%, while its ally, the National Movement Party, received 4.9%.
The Peoples' Democratic Party received 5.6%, and the Good Party received 3.7%.
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