“The CHP had increased the number of its votes in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir significantly. In large metropolises, we increased our votes. This was the first election that the countryside voted for most metropolises. In the past, we have been losing elections because of the countryside votes. We will evaluate the results accordingly and tell the right from the wrong, but the result shouldn’t be seen as a failure.We tried to attract the ruling AKP voters in the election campaign but that the strategy had not been successful overnight. We try to address them in the light of what we understand. However, it seems that it’s not possible to convince them instantly. We need to evaluate the ways in which the masses listen to us. “
Graphics by HDN
Notes:
- Unofficial results: AKP %44.13 , CHP %28.73, MHP %16. The CHP increased its votes 3 % compared to 2011 general elections. AKP lost 5-6 % of votes compared to 2011 general elections. CHP won 13 cities out of 81 including the country’s third biggest city İzmir.
- The elections were marred by electoral fraud and violence, with opposition party candidates in cities such as Ankara and Yalova refusing to recognise the results in their respective districts. CHP announced that it will appeal the results against alleged electoral manipulation. Please see below the unofficial document “Reports on electoral fraud are snowballing at the end of election day in Turkey”, collected by CHP European Union volunteers.
- For many, their trust in fair elections in Turkey has been severely shaken, and Erdogan’s divide-and-rule style to rally his religious-conservative base has led to increasing polarisation of the country, and in some cases to violence.
- In Ankara, the dispute continues and Yavaş claims victory against AKP candidate Melih Gökçek. Votes are very close (44 % to 43 %) and probably until the official declaration by the Turkish Supreme Electoral Council (Yüksek Seçim Kurulu) there will not be a winner.
- CHP mayoral candidate for Istanbul, Mustafa Sarıgül: The general results in Turkey show there is a rough journey ahead of us for the rights, freedoms, democracy and secularism that respects beliefs. We have to continue this journey for our children in an effort to make them live in modern Turkey. I wished the elections would have been a milestone for democracy with a clean voting process, but the latest developments in the country, including Twitter and YouTube bans, fake news about the election campaign, attacks on the party’s election offices and electricity blackouts, had prevented it from being so. The CHP had received the highest voting rates in Istanbul so far, but added that it was no consolation.
- Trust in election results was at an all-time low as the state-run Anatolian news agency and the privately owned Cihan service published different numbers.
- In the runup to the local elections, local offices of the CHP and the pro-Kurdish HDP have repeatedly been attacked. Analysts have criticised the amount of time given to the AKP on state television in comparison with its opponents, and allegations of attempts at election-rigging have circulated on social media.
- Voting went ahead peacefully in most parts of the country , but fights broke out between groups supporting rival candidates in two villages. Six people were killed in a shoot-out in Sanliurfa province, while two more died in a village in Hatay, security officials said. The clashes were over local council positions and were not directly linked to the wider tensions in the country.
www.cumhuriyet.com.tr , www.hurriyet.com.tr , www.economist.com ,www.bbc.com , politikaakademisi.org , www.hurriyetdailynews.com, www.theguardian.com
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