Turkey votes in local elections seen as key test of Erdoğan's rule

Voters across Turkey have begun casting their ballots in local elections that are being viewed as a crucial test for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as the country’s economic woes bite into his popular support.

At least 57 million people are eligible to vote on Sunday in contests in 30 cities and more than 900 other areas around the country. While the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) has won every vote since it first took office in 2002, for the first time the party is facing the prospect of significant defeat in several places, including the capital, Ankara.

Erdoğan’s 16 years in office have been distinguished by consistently strong economic growth, but last year’s currency crisis has officially triggered a recession. Inflation is hovering at about 20%, sending the cost of living soaring for working-class AKP voters.

The president is not on the ballot himself, but he has campaigned tirelesslyover the last few weeks in an attempt to draw attention away from the economy. He has framed the local elections as a matter of “national survival”, accusing opposition parties of links to terrorism and blaming inflation on foreign powers seeking to undermine the country.

Despite his efforts, in Ankara opinion polls suggest the main opposition bloc’s mayoral candidate, Mansur Yavaş, is on track to end AKP’s longtime control of the capital.

The opposition also hopes dissatisfaction at inflation and rising unemployment will be enough to dissuade working-class AKP voters from turning out in other cities.

President Erdoğan casts his vote in Istanbul, where vote monitors said polling stations were quiet on Sunday morning. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Polling stations across Istanbul on Sunday morning had been quieter than expected, several vote monitors said.

“We keep showing up to vote. I think we’re a bit bored of it,” said 74-year-old Engin Yorulmaz, from Istanbul’s Trakya district. “But maybe we’re bored of change as well.”

Critics have said Sunday’s elections are not being fought fairly, with several pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP) leaders in the south-east of the country arrested on terror charges in the runup to voting day.

Largely pro-government media coverage has also put opposition parties at a campaigning disadvantage.

On Sunday, the Felicity party leader, Temel Karamollaoğlu, tweeted that two party members, a polling station volunteer and a party observer, were killed in eastern Malatya province by AKP voters. Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported the deaths were the result of a brawl.

But for AKP supporters, Erdoğan’s strong leadership is exactly what will help Turkey weather its financial crisis.

“Before, there were no services, no rubbish collection, we didn’t have insurance to visit the hospital. Now life is good for us,” said Havva Guney, 56.

“Some people say there’s no money left but the markets are still open. People still leave with bags of food.”

(THE GUARDIAN)