Ruling AK Party sweeps Istanbul district mayoral races

ISTANBUL

In Sunday’s local elections, Turkey’s ruling party swept the metropolis of Istanbul, winning 24 out of 39 district mayoral seats in the city, where nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population lives.

In comparison to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s 24 district wins, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) took 14 districts, and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) took one, according to unofficial results Monday.

Home to the largest voter base in Turkey with 10.56 million eligible voters, Istanbul saw a huge turnout on Sunday, with 8.7 million Istanbulites casting ballots.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who served as mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in the 1990s, is also leader of the ruling AK Party.

The Istanbul districts whose mayoral seats were won by the AK Party are Arnavutkoy, Bagcilar, Bahcelievler, Basaksehir, Bayrampasa, Beykoz, Beyoglu, Catalca, Cekmekoy, Esenler, Eyupsultan, Fatih, Gaziosmanpasa, Gungoren, Kagithane, Pendik, Sancaktepe, Sultanbeyli, Sultangazi, Sile, Tuzla, Umraniye, Uskudar, and Zeytinburnu.

The districts that elected CHP mayors for five-year terms were Adalar, Atasehir, Avcilar, Bakirkoy and Besiktas as well as Beylikduzu, Buyukcekmece, Esenyurt, Kadikoy, Kartal, Kucukcekmece, Maltepe, Sariyer, and Sisli.

In the Avcilar district, Turan Hancerli of the CHP became the first disabled Istanbul mayor with 52 percent of the vote.

Writing by Vakkas Dogantekin