Local elections in Turkey in the world press! 'Battle for Istanbul tests Erdoğan's power'

Turkey is heading to the polls today (March 31) to elect its local administrators.

The world press is also closely following the critical elections in which approximately 61 million voters will cast their ballots.

"Erdoğan battles key rival in Turkey's local elections", a news analysis prepared by the British news agency Reuters, recalled the 2019 victory of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The report stated, "İmamoğlu dealt a major blow to Erdoğan in the 2019 election. While Erdoğan has been emboldened by his election victory last year, the direction of Kurdish and conservative votes will influence the result."

"Turks are focused on Sunday's nationwide local elections on President Tayyip Erdoğan's bid to reclaim control of Istanbul from his biggest rival, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who aims to turn the opposition back into a political force following bitter election defeats last year," the report said, while commenting on İmamoğlu's 2019 victory: "By winning in 2019, İmamoğlu dealt Erdoğan and the AKP the biggest electoral blow of their two decades in power."

"İMAMOĞLU APPEALS TO VOTERS BEYOND THE CHP"

The report stated that the election results would be influenced by the economic crisis based on high inflation, as well as the votes of Kurdish and conservative voters.

The report noted, "While the real prize for Erdoğan is Istanbul, he is also trying to win back the capital, Ankara. Both cities were won by the opposition in 2019 after remaining under the rule of the AKP and its Islamist predecessors for the last 25 years. The collapse of the opposition alliance that he defeated last year has helped Erdoğan's prospects, but İmamoğlu still appeals to voters beyond the main opposition Republican People's Party."

FT: BATTLE FOR ISTANBUL TESTS ERDOĞAN'S POWER

The Financial Times, one of the UK's respected newspapers, also published a striking analysis regarding the local elections in Turkey.

In the report by Adam Samson and Ayla Jean Yackley, the headline "Battle for Istanbul tests Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's power" was used, and it was stated: "The mayoral race pits the president against Turkey's most important opposition figure. In recent months in Turkey, there has been only one name in the press who could be a rival to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: the presidential candidate who wants to take Istanbul back from the opposition mayor. Murat Kurum, once a relatively low-profile urban planning minister, has become a fixture of pro-government media ahead of this Sunday's local elections."

The report stated, "The 47-year-old Kurum is on the ballot in the 2024 elections, but for many voters, it is seen as a rematch between Erdoğan and İmamoğlu, who surprisingly took Istanbul from the President's party, the AKP, in 2019."