Erdogan Battles Rival in Türkiye’s Local Elections, Violence Flares

Turks voted on Sunday in municipal elections focused on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bid to reclaim control of Istanbul from rival Ekrem Imamoglu, who aims to reassert the opposition as a political force after election defeats last year.
Polls closed at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) after some violence across the country related to the election of neighborhood officials, or “muhtars”, with three people reported killed. Initial vote results are expected by early evening.
Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu dealt Erdogan and his AK Party the biggest electoral blow of two decades in power with his win in the 2019 vote. The president struck back in 2023 by securing re-election and a parliament majority with his nationalist allies.
Sunday’s results could reinforce Erdogan’s control of NATO-member Türkiye, or signal change in the major emerging economy’s divided political landscape. An Imamoglu win would fuel expectations of him becoming a future national leader.
“Imamoglu is fine and does what he should as mayor, but he does not compare with Erdogan,” AK Party (AKP) voter and retiree Omer said, while a jubilant crowd chanted the president’s name as he emerged from a polling station in Istanbul.
Elsewhere in Istanbul, engineer Murat Ercan disapproved of Erdogan’s active role in campaigning for his party ahead of the elections, believing the president should be impartial.
“Ekrem Imamoglu is the sort of president we long for, with his constructive and smiling nature, embracing everyone,” Ercan, 60, said after casting his ballot in Istanbul.
In one incident in the southeast, groups clashed with guns, sticks and stones, killing one and wounding 11. In another, one muhtar candidate was killed and four people wounded in a fight.