Turkey local elections: President Erdogan accepts defeat in 'turning point'


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Opposition mayors in Istanbul and Ankara claimed victory in Turkey's local elections on Sunday, delivering a surprise election defeat to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He later accepted their gains, calling the vote a “turning point”, as his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost in key battlegrounds Ankara and Istanbul.

With 96 per cent of ballot boxes opened, Istanbul's Republican People's Party (CHP) mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said he had seen off the challenge of Mr Erdogan's candidate by more than one million votes.

“We have won the election,” Mr Imamoglu declared. “Tomorrow is a new spring day for our country.”

Large crowds filled the square outside the Istanbul city headquarters waving Turkish flags and lighting torches to celebrate the result.

The CHP also retained the capital with Mayor Mansur Yavas saying “the elections are over, we will continue to serve Ankara”.

Mr Yavas was leading with 58.6 per cent of the vote against 33.5 per cent for his AKP opponent from 46.4 per cent of ballot boxes opened. The CHP was also ahead in Izmir, Turkey's third city and a party stronghold.

Both Mr Imamoglu and Mr Yavas are members of the pro-secular nationalist Republican People's Party or CHP. Mr Erdogan's AKP lost control of both cities in a surprise victory for the country’s embattled opposition in 2019, which ushered in fresh crackdowns on his opponents, and was followed by Mr Erdogan's re-election as president in 2023.

Sixty-one million people were eligible to vote in the local elections across the country.

The vote was taking place after years of economic gloom, with the country having suffered 70 per cent inflation and a fall in industrial output. But in recent months, the economy has returned to modest growth and youth unemployment dipped around a percentage point to nine per cent last year, significantly below a lot of European countries, but still near double digits.

There were reports of violence in separate incidents across the country, despite the Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya earlier announcing that 594,000 security personnel had been posted to ensure the vote goes smoothly.

The state-owned Anadolu reported that armed groups clashed in south-eastern Turkey, with at least one person killed and 11 more injured. It added that another 16 were injured in a clash in Sanliurfa, also in Turkey's restive south-east, where Kurdish separatist groups have a strong presence.

The election was seen as crucial for Mr Erdogan's plans to usher in a new national constitution that would allow him to rule beyond 2028, analysts say.

Observers say many governing party supporters could have chosen not to go to the polls in protest of the economic downturn that has left many struggling to pay for food, utilities and rent.

Mr Imamoglu ran in the poll without the support of some of the parties that helped him to victory in 2019.

Both the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party and the nationalist IYI Party fielded their own candidates in the race, which risked siphoning away votes from Mr Imamoglu.

A six-party opposition alliance led by CHP disintegrated after it failed to oust Mr Erdogan in last year's election, unable to capitalise on the economic crisis and the government's initially poor response to last year's devastating earthquake that killed more than 53,000 people.

Meanwhile, a new religious-conservative party, the New Welfare Party, or YRP, was appealing to voters who have been disillusioned with Mr Erdogan’s handling of the economy and was expected to draw some votes away from his candidates.

In Turkey's mainly Kurdish-populated south-east, the DEM Party was expected to win many of the municipalities but it's unclear whether it would be allowed to retain them. In previous years, Mr Erdogan’s government removed elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office for alleged links to Kurdish militants and replaced them with state-appointed trustees.

Agencies contributed to this report

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm
UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

 

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
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Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
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- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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NEW ARRIVALS

Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m 

Who has been sanctioned?

Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.

Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.

Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.

Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.

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Updated: April 01, 2024, 6:35 AM`