Politics
Istanbul Cliffhanger Caps Historic Vote as Erdogan Won't Concede
- Ankara and Mediterranean cities slip from grasp of AK Party
- Election board chief says CHP leading mayoral race in Istanbul
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Turkey’s biggest cities turned against Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the first time since 1994 in a stinging rejection at the ballot box that looked likely to end in the opposition’s takeover of the president’s hometown of Istanbul.
The capital, Ankara, and cities along the Mediterranean coast slipped from the grasp of Erdogan’s nationalist alliance in a municipal election upended by a raging recession and a recent run on the currency. Erdogan’s ruling bloc largely stood its ground across much of the country’s rural interior.