Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) appears to have lost control of city hall in Ankara and is neck and neck with the opposition in Istanbul, according to preliminary results from Sunday's municipal elections. In the capital, Mansur Yavas, candidate of an alliance led by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has taken the lead. Meanwhile in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and its commercial hub, opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu reportedly leads former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, according to the latest data provided by Turkey’s official Supreme Election Board.
Why it matters: These elections are the first since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumed sweeping executive powers last year. As such, they are widely seen as a vote of confidence in his single-handed rule. The results have no direct bearing on the central government, but are widely viewed as a rebuke to the government, especially over a bruising economic downturn marked by soaring prices and an unemployment rate heading to its highest level in three decades.
