Imamoglou makes a deposit for 2028

“A slap in the face of Erdogan”, the well-known Turkish analyst Turhan Bozkurt commented already at 20.38 last night on the result of the self-governing elections in Turkey and especially in the City. “This time the polls have been confirmed. The people punished Erdogan,” added Aileen, a near-candidate with the pro-Kurdish DEM, which finally voted for Ekrem Imamoglu yesterday.

“Imamoglu won because the Kurds and DEM voters finally voted for him. Because Erbakan’s party, the New Prosperity Party, confirmed the predictions and absorbed all the disaffected voters from the ruling AKP. It turned out to be the alternative for a world because of the bad economy. Nor is abstinence accidental. There is anger about the government. And the results of the elections are Waterloo for Erdogan”, underlined last night in “NEWS” Sadik Gulets from the management team of the “Duvar” newspaper, considering that Erdogan “will make the constitutional reform even faster now to be again candidate”, while Imamoglu gets the “passport” for the 2028 presidential race.

In the 2019 local elections in Istanbul, Imamoglu first won the election by a narrow margin. The elections were repeated after an objection from the government which canceled them. In the second round, the difference was slightly larger in favor of Imamoglu. From this date onwards, he began to be considered as a candidate to stand against Erdogan. By widening this gap further in this election, he is strengthening his position not only as the CHP’s presidential candidate, but also as a contender against Erdogan or his successor in the general election to be held in 2028. Preliminary data show that the gap in Istanbul against the AKP candidate, former minister Murat Kurum, will be larger than in previous elections.

If he wins the districts known as AKP “strongholds”, Imamoglu “will win a big position not only for himself but also for his team in the presidential election”, Gulets adds.

“From east to west, from north to south, AKP’s orange is disappearing from the country. The renewed CHP is the first party. This is a revolution,” commented the director of the think tank ideapolitik Jan Kakisim.

“The fact that the AKP has lost the large metropolitan municipalities is the confirmation of democracy”, the Turkish academic and member of the pro-government think tank TAV, Enes Bayrakli, emphasizes in “NEA”, pointing out the gravity of the defeat in Istanbul for Tayyip Erdogan himself. , economic, symbolic, historical, ideological. It started from this municipality. Participation was expected to be lower than in 2023 and 2019.

“It was a strange election, with people tired after the last presidential election, which had tension. There was great disappointment. Imamoglu’s disadvantage was the fragmentation of the opposition as a whole. AKP’s great economic recession, which had a negative impact. There are those disillusioned by inflation who did not go to vote. If you look at the history of AKP, you see fewer votes in local elections. That’s where the disgruntled send their message. In the presidential elections, they are united.”

“Imamoglu took a municipality with no money, where public works were bogged down, and moved them forward. He found money and added 100 kilometers to the metro network,” admits Sinan Kocak, a member of the ruling AKP. However, he does not consider that he should run for the presidency. “It is good for the size of the municipality, even though it is a political phenomenon autonomously, functioning individually as an opposition. But he doesn’t know the bureaucracy of Ankara.”

Defeated Kurum, “a civil engineer who has worked in the earthquake-stricken areas and could help in the area of ​​statics of the city’s building stock, and would have the government’s support for it, had the disadvantage of not really knowing Istanbul. She doesn’t know him either,” he adds. “His base is Ankara, where he will return to continue in Parliament as head of the environment committee. He won’t have any problem.”

“I am happy that the AKP crashed tonight. Imamoglou is persistent, he supported us, he did not back down. Save the hope. Imamoglu is not only the mayor of the city. He is our future president. And the Greeks also voted for him” says laughing Maria Meltem, of Greek origin, leaving the CHP headquarters in Istanbul last night, where the winner of the municipal elections, Ekrem Imamoglou, was going to make the victory announcements shortly, to go immediately to the town hall where he would greet the citizens, who were already waiting for him having set up a huge festival. Despite all this, there were dozens of cars parked outside the party headquarters that had not yet started honking their horns and celebrating. A short time later they began their procession honking their horns to the town hall where thousands of flags fluttered tirelessly in the air awaiting the mayor. People were dancing. Women wept while the song that praised him was played.

“I won’t sleep today. The politician who has a vision was elected. We were saved in the city and in the country” says Altug while waiting for the mayor for the big celebration at the town hall. “If Kuram came out, we were lost,” he adds.

“Ekrem, Ekrem, he did the miracle” shouts Mrs. Etjem who has come with her granddaughter outside the town hall. Drums, fireworks create a festive confusion.

With 76% of the votes counted in Istanbul last night, Imamoglu gathered 50.46% and Murat Kouroum, candidate of the ruling AKP, 40.81%.

A triumph for Mansur Yavas, mayor of Ankara with the CHP, who, with 55% of the votes counted, gathers 59%, while the AKP candidate, Turgut Altinok, only 33%. “Hello, beautiful people of the beautiful capital. I invite all my fellow citizens to the garden of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality headquarters building at 22.00″ was the mayor’s call to wild celebrations, which in the Turkish capital started much earlier than in the city.

In the third major Metropolis, claimed by the AKP, with 73% of the votes counted, CHP candidate Cemil Tugai was leading with 48.32%, leaving behind his opponent Hamza Dagh (AKP) with 38.73%.

“The AK Party suffered a major defeat in the 2024 local elections. Years later, the AKP headquarters are empty and silent. The mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglou, secured his fourth consecutive victory against the AKP and consequently against President Erdogan personally, whose future is now uncertain”, the journalist underlines in his analysis for “TA NEA” of the Turkish edition of the “Independent”, Ntora Meguts.

“In Ankara, the CHP candidate, Mansur Yavas, triumphs again, with a decisive victory this time. The economic challenges had political consequences,” adds the analyst. “The AKP’s loss of large municipalities in Istanbul, beyond the metropolitan municipality, such as Uskundar, Beyoglu, which had been linked to President Erdogan, highlights the importance of economic challenges in shaping election results.”

“With yesterday’s election results, Imamoglu consolidates his position as the unofficial leader of the CHP and a potential presidential candidate in 2028. In addition, Yavas’ clear victory in Ankara “suggests his potential to be a presidential candidate as well,” continues Megücs, which characterizes the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the New Welfare Party as the big winners of the elections, and the AKP, the nationalist MHP of Bahtceli, and Aksener’s Good Party as losers.

“Constitutional amendments appear to be on hold in light of the overwhelming results. In fact, they could signal the return to a parliamentary system and pressure from the opposition for early elections”, summarizes the Turkish journalist.