Erdogan made an abrupt U-turn in economic policy after his triumph in a national election last year, resulting in aggressive interest rate hikes to rein in inflation expectations that soared under his years-long unorthodox policy stance.
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He has asked for patience with slower economic growth and high borrowing costs, promising reprieve later this year, and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said the belt-tightening program would carry on.
AKP election candidates were thumped in the cities of Istanbul and Ankara and even in deeply pro-Erdogan strongholds like Bursa, Afyonkarahisar and Adiyaman provinces.
“I think it’s mainly about the economy and in particular the inflation... story. I think voters decided to punish Erdogan for these reasons,” said Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of political risk consultancy Teneo.
He said AKP lost control of industrial regions where many workers are on a minimum wage, which has trailed inflation despite big rises.
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AKP overall “suffered due to over-confidence hubris,” Piccoli said, pointing to the success of the Islamist New Welfare Party, which emerged as the third-biggest party in a big surprise, with 6.2 per cent support.
New Welfare benefited by taking an even more hardline stance than Erdogan against Israel over the Gaza conflict, which helped draw pious voters away from the Islamist-rooted AKP, analysts said.
The CHP – the party of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – won near 38 per cent support nationwide, more than two points ahead of the AKP and shattering the ceiling of 25 per cent support it has had this century.
Opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper called it “a historic victory,” that taught Erdogan a lesson.
The CHP’s Imamoglu won 51 per cent support in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, 11 percentage points ahead of his AKP challenger despite polls pointing to a close race.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is touted as a future presidential candidate.Credit: Getty
He won despite the collapse of an opposition alliance after last year’s election defeats, reaching out to Kurds and others typically outside of the secularist CHP base.
“The period of one-person rule has ended as of today,” Imamoglu, 53, told thousands of jubilant supporters.
The former businessman, who entered politics in 2008, had defeated Erdogan’s candidate in the local election five years ago, ending 25 years of rule in the city by AKP and its Islamist predecessors. He is now touted as a presidential challenger.
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“We didn’t vote for [AKP] obviously due to the economic conditions and promises that were not kept,” said accountant Onur Hizmetci, 42, adding he had voted AKP the last 15 years.
“All parties need to move away from polarisation and do something for our country with unity,” he said in a public square on the Asian side of Istanbul. “People are sick of fighting and arguing.”
Reuters