Turkey opposition wins in local elections against Erdogan government

Özgür Özel, the leader of the opposition party on Monday, celebrated numerous local election wins against longtime Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AK Party. Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, another key player in the opposition party known as the Republican People’s Party, detailed the wins in a statement on social media.

Did any voter fraud take place? Voting irregularities took place in the province of Hatay, according to a statement by Özel. He accused the governor of Hatay of helping create the irregularities, which he alleged went against the will of the people in that region.

The Council of Europe had sent a team of observers to Turkey to watch out for unfair practices during the election. Some provinces rushed their ballot counts, and some candidates interfered with the results, delegation leader David Eray said in a statement. He added that local media did not cover the election impartially.

What has Erdoğan’s party said about this? Erdoğan said Sunday night that he hoped the country would not deviate from the course he and his party had set during 21 years of rule, according to a statement by his party. AK has been the country’s ruling party since 2003.