Local elections in Turkey: AK Party gets most votes but loses Ankara

TURKEY, (Patria) - Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to votes counted so far in local elections in Turkey, has won the largest number of mayoral seats, out of a total of 30, but it appears that the People's Alliance, a coalition of the AKP and MHP, will lose control of the capital Ankara, reports Middle East Eye. The candidate of the Republican People's Party, Mansur Yavas, is in the lead, ahead of the AKP's Mehmet Ozhaseki.

Former Prime Minister of Turkey and AKP candidate Binali Yildirim is convincingly leading in the race for the position of mayor of Istanbul, while AKP candidates are also leading in Bursa, Erzurum and Trabzon, as well as in Sirnak in the far southeast of Turkey.

In addition to Ankara, cities where CHP candidates are leading include Izmir, Antalya, Adana and Edirne.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is leading in the cities of Diyarbakir, Mardin, Van, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has the advantage for the position of mayor in the city of Manisa. According to preliminary results, 85 percent of the ballots have been counted so far.

The People's Alliance, which brings together the AKP and MHP, won 51.9 percent of the vote, while the National Alliance, which brings together the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the IYI Party, won 37.55 percent of the vote.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the local elections were conducted in a democratic manner and that the Turkish people once again, with a high turnout, showed their will at the ballot boxes.

Erdogan announced an important reform program and added that the next elections in Turkey will be held in June 2023:

"We will continue the fight against terrorism and work to make our country and region an oasis of peace. There is still a long way ahead of us, we need to shed much more sweat for this nation."

Today's elections were also marked by violence, with four deaths recorded and several dozen people injured.

57 million citizens had the right to vote. Voters in Turkey.