Erdogan Suffers Historic Loss in Turkey Municipal Elections

Voters pressed by economy woes punish Turkish president
Support for Erdogan’s ruling party is at lowest on record

WATCH: Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered an unprecedented defeat at the ballot box against the main opposition party in Sunday’s municipal elections. Beril Akman breaks down the situation.Source: Bloomberg

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By Selcan Hacaoglu, Beril Akman, and Firat Kozok

March 31, 2024 at 8:07 PM UTC

Updated on

April 1, 2024 at 5:46 AM UTC

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Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered an unprecedented defeat at the ballot box against the main opposition party amid rampant inflation and the highest borrowing costs since the president swept to power more than two decades ago.

Turkey’s lira weakened in early trading on Monday after Erdogan’s AK Party fell behind the main opposition Republican People’s Party, known as CHP, in Sunday’s municipal elections for the first time ever, according to early results published by state broadcaster TRT.