The ruling Justice and Development Party's loss of big cities in Turkey’s local elections comes with important economic repercussions for the party, known as the AKP. The loss has stymied patronage networks that have been highly instrumental in expanding the party’s voter base, all amid an economic crisis.

No wonder the AKP has refused to concede defeat in Istanbul — the country’s economic powerhouse, which the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won by a razor-thin margin — and the capital, Ankara, forcing recounts for hundreds of ballot boxes since the March 31 vote.

The opposition’s takeover of Istanbul and Ankara would end the AKP and its predecessors' quarter century of dominion in both cities, marking the party's worst electoral setback since it came to power in 2002. The loss of Istanbul has had an added impact of shock since it is the city where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began his rise to power as mayor in 1994.

In Sunday’s vote, the AKP suffered another debacle in the CHP stronghold of Izmir, the country’s third biggest city, and lost hold of Antalya, the center of Turkey’s vital tourism industry, as well as of Adana and Mersin, both major economic hubs.