Istanbul Rerun and Turkey’s Future: Foreign Policy

Turkey’s Supreme Election Council ruled that Istanbul will hold another mayoral election, invalidating a previous win for Ekrem Imamoğlu, the opposition candidate from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP. That outcome was a setback for AKP, the ruling party. Can Selçuki argues in Foreign Policy that the council’s decision places Turkish democratic elections in peril. Selçuki writes that Turkey has largely accepted results from past multiparty elections, but this time the council decided on partisan grounds. For instance, the council questioned credentials of staff members working at Istanbul’s voting booths, and the mayoral race is the only one nullified. oving forward, a protracted battle over the new election may end up hurting AKP’s interests as the public remains unconvinced of electoral impropriety. The upcoming election is no longer just about Istanbul’s mayorship and may be seen as a referendum on AKP, home party to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. – YaleGlobal