 by repeating his two landmark 2019 wins.){kind=link}
Opposition supporters on Sunday filled an İstanbul square to celebrate the re-election of Ekrem İmamoğlu as mayor, who dealt a third blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) by repeating his two landmark 2019 wins.
Tens of thousands of people lit torches and waved Turkish flags after partial local election results showed that support for the government had weakened in the wake of nearly 70 percent inflation and the crumbling of the Turkish currency against the dollar.
“Turks have opened their eyes and voted for those candidates who think about Turkey’s economy and the education and future of its younger generation,” university student Ege Ersöz, 19, told AFP at Saraçhane Square.
“This is only the beginning. It’s the first time the AKP has lost this much. God willing, this will go on in the coming elections,” he said, referring to Erdoğan’s AKP.
The victory had been a long time coming, he admitted. “But as soon as you turn around a loss, it’s a gain,” he added.
“We dealt the biggest blow to the AKP in this election. I hope we will see the AKP completely lose in Turkey and be removed from power.”
Large crowds chanted, “Turkey is secular and will remain secular” and “Tayyip, resign!”
İmamoğlu addressed the enthusiastic crowd but interrupted them when some started booing at a reference to Erdoğan and the ruling party.
“There’s no booing. We will talk all about this,” İmamoğlu said.
“After this election, I am thinking about the messages given by our people to our rivals, to the government, and to Mr. President,” he added.
‘A new spring day’
Arzu Uluocak, 47, said the election results amounted to a protest by voters against the country’s deteriorating economic situation.
“People slammed it in the face of the government in this election,” she said. “Every day prices are soaring; people are in dire straits.”
And for Esra Palasoğlu, this was just the beginning now that voters had “woken up.”
“This is what we call democracy,” she said.
“The veiled and the unveiled, the right and the left, they have all woken up and taught Erdoğan’s government a lesson.”
“Beautiful days are near,” said 20-year-old student Gürkay Güneş, wrapped in a Turkish flag. “Turkey will be more beautiful when the opposition takes control of all of Turkey,” he added.
İmamoğlu, his voice hoarse and visibly tired after a long, intense campaign, nevertheless sounded upbeat.
“A new era has started in İstanbul. There will be no partisanship.
“Tomorrow is a new spring day for our country,” he said.
“We will breathe in the air of peace, democracy and unity.”
Largely unknown in 2019, İmamoğlu that year ended 25 years of rule by Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its allies in the city of 16 million where the president was once mayor.
The smooth-talking İmamoğlu was initially stripped of his victory when the vote was controversially annulled. But he won by an even bigger margin in a re-run three months later.
He has since become one of Turkey’s most popular politicians.
© Agence France-Presse