Superwahljahr 2024: After Turkey’s Regional Elections, Opposition Parties are Gaining Ground

Over the weekend, voters in Turkey participated in nationwide local elections. With more than 90 percent of ballots counted by early Monday, the opposition appears to have made significant gains against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party. Based on preliminary vote counts, the opposition maintained power in four of the country’s largest cities — Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya — and took control of a fifth, Bursa, and a number of smaller cities. Official results are expected from the Supreme Election Council in the coming days.

The shift away from Erdogan has been driven by voter resentment about inflation and the economy. A strong showing of support for Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has solidified his position as the main opposition candidate and might reinvigorate the anti-Erdogan opposition. Many Turks believe Imamoglu is a potential contender in the next presidential election – which is expected in 2028, when he could face off against Mr. Erdogan.

Join us on Tuesday, April 9, for a virtual discussion with Turkey expert Dr. Sinem Adar from the Center for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)) and FAZ correspondent Friederike Böge. We’ll discuss the stunning election results and what they mean for the country.

Dr. Sinem Adar is with the Center for Applied Turkey Studies of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). She focuses on Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy and EU-Turkey relations. Before joining SWP, Dr. Adar was an Einstein Fellow at Humboldt University. She holds a Doctorate degree in Sociology from Brown University and a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
Friederike Böge has been writing for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung since 2013. From 2017 until March 2023, she served as the paper’s correspondent for China and North Korea. Since April 2023, she has been based in Ankara and reports on Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. She began her career in journalism as a trainee at the FAZ and then worked at Reuters and the Financial Times Deutschland. From 2004 to 2007, she worked in Afghanistan for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the German Development Agency. Ms. Böge studied Ethnology, African Studies, and Political Science in Berlin and Cape Town.