Turkey: Crushing blow for Erdogan
Erdogan likes to say 'whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey.' His party's defeat is a crushing blow
Change, hope, and a new beginning. That's the promise of Istanbul's newly elected mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. His slogan, "Everything will be great," is on everyone's lips in Turkey. Imamoglu's win in the repeat of the mayoral vote invigorates Turkey's fatigued opposition. It breathes new life into a part of the Turkish electorate that had lost all hope of a victory at the ballot box, but still believed in safeguarding the country's democracy.
Change, hope, and a new beginning. That's the promise of Istanbul's newly elected mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. His slogan, "Everything will be great," is on everyone's lips in Turkey. Imamoglu's win in the repeat of the mayoral vote invigorates Turkey's fatigued opposition. It breathes new life into a part of the Turkish electorate that had lost all hope of a victory at the ballot box, but still believed in safeguarding the country's democracy.
The revote was less
about the office of the mayor and more about the question of whether or not the
most basic and indisputable part of the democratic process, the ballot box,
would survive the tenure of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Not only did it
survive, it also sent a very clear message by giving Imamoglu the power over
Turkey's financial heart. But to view his
victory only as a win for the opposition overlooks the countless mistakes
Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has made in the run-up to
the elections. From the get go,
the decision to rerun the elections drew widespread
criticism. Coupled with a
struggling economy, a political system that has in recent years skewed toward
one-man rule and allegations of municipal corruption, voters sent a warning to
the AKP that it is not invincible. The election showed that even Erdogan, whose
personality is the driving force behind his party, can be defeated.
Erdogan has cast a
long shadow over Turkish politics during his 16 years in power. He has
consolidated power in his person to the detriment of Turkish democracy, but his
legitimacy is based on his uncanny ability to win elections. The President was
not a candidate in this election, but the loss is still personal. Istanbul is
his birthplace and the city where he launched his political career.
Erdogan is fond of
saying "whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey," and the city has become
a concentrated source of wealth and power for his party, oiling the rest of
Turkey's political machine.
Losing control of it means losing funds and
resources that subsidize pro-government media, businesses, contractors and the
AKP apparatus at large. The opposition
hopes that in Imamoglu they have found a political charisma to rival Erdogan's.
Imamoglu's hopeful campaign messages and his calm and measured demeanor
presented voters with an alternative they have not seen in a long time.