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Since he governed Turkey, more than 20 years ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party had not suffered a defeat of this magnitude in municipal elections. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) took 36 of the country's 81 municipalities, including Istanbul and Ankara. Erdogan himself acknowledged “errors that must be corrected.” What is the reason for this political setback? We analyze it in this edition of El Debate.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party suffered a heavy defeat in the March 31 municipal elections.
It is the worst setback that the ruling Justice and Development Party, known as AKP by its acronym, has had. This is because The social democrats of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, took 36 of the 81 municipalities, including Turkey's five most populous cities.
Thus, the opponents will govern in Istanbul and Ankara, where they repeat their mandate. In both, the social democrats have governed since 2019 and the two mayors were re-elected.
How sensitive is the result for Erdogan? What are the errors that the president talks about? Is the Turkish opposition getting stronger after more than 20 years of AKP power? We discussed it with our guests:
– Agustín Berea, academic at the Universidad Iberoamericana, master in Asian and African Studies.
– Carlos Ortega Sánchez, international analyst, doctoral student in Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul University.