Turkey: How will AK Party try to fix erosion of electoral base?
A big defeat for Turkey’s ruling party in the rerun of Istanbul’s mayoral election.
It took a quarter of a century, but Turkey’s opposition has finally worked out how to defeat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the candidate for the Republican People’s Party (CHP), snatched victory in Sunday’s mayoral election rerun in Istanbul.
The country’s largest city has long been governed by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
The president considers Istanbul decisive in shaping Turkish politics – and it’s kind of personal for him, too, as it’s where he began his career as a mayor.
Imamoglu is now seen by many as Erdogan’s rising challenger.
He struck a positive message during his campaign with the slogan, “Everything will be fine.”
But is that really true?
Presenter: Peter Dobbie
Guests:
Galip Dalay – Research Director at Al Sharq Forum.
Murat Ozcelik – CHP member
Marc Pierini – Former European Union ambassador to Turkey