Supporters of Ekrem Imamoglu celebrate after he was elected as mayor of Istambul for the third time. inflicted the first major political reverse on the president since his rise to power two decades ago. In the process they boosted the secular opposition Republican People’s Party .
Erdogan’s traditional base is also being eroded by conservative, Islamist-leaning New Welfare , and with the economy still languishing, he faces a major uphill challenge on the long road to the 2028 general election. Ekrem Imamoglu’s victory in Istanbul for a third successive term was particularly notable. Erdogan, who launched his own political career here, had thrown his full weight behind the AKP candidate who lost the country’s largest city, home to 18 per cent of its population, by a record 12 percentage point margin. On Sunday night jubilant crowds poured on to the streets dancing and singing, car horns sounding late into the night.
Overall the CHP captured 38 per cent of the national vote, up from 23 per cent in 2018′s general election, while support for the AKP fell to 35 per cent, despite Erdogan’s use of the state to jail or intimidate opponents and the media to flood the airwaves with his own propaganda.